


will is about to start barking

by grchampcwell



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Adopted Abigail Hobbs, Alternate Universe, Bisexual Will Graham, Canon-Typical Violence, Caring Hannibal Lecter, Explicit Language, FBI Agent Will Graham, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Hurt Animal, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mentions of Murder, Original Character(s), Vet!Hannibal, Will Graham & Beverly Katz Friendship, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham is Crushing, Will Graham is a Mess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27966767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grchampcwell/pseuds/grchampcwell
Summary: The plan was to take Winston in to the vet to make sure he wasn't badly hurt from his time in the woods before Will had found him then bring the other dogs in when they needed their shots in a few months. Yet here he was bringing in another one of his dogs for some made up reason just because he wanted to see the vet because of his hopeless crush on the man.An alternate universe in which Hannibal is a veterinarian and Will makes up random reasons to bring his dogs in to see him.
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 13
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a vet, my research is from google. This is my first fic ever so yea it may be a mess. I may add more characters to the list but I plan to at least mention the ones in the character list but hopefully they will all have an appearance.

Will Graham didn’t really enjoy human interaction, he had very few friends and his interactions with them were mainly due to the fact that he worked with them. Otherwise he avoided social interaction as much as he could as it overwhelmed him. Human interaction wasn’t on his list of things he would want to do if it wasn’t necessary. He did however enjoy the company of animals, specifically dogs. Anyone who knew him knew that he had a habit of adopting strays. Will already had five dogs at home, which could be a hassle at times. Yet, here he was pulling over to help another stray that seemed to be hurt.

He had been on his way home after a pretty laid back day, except for when Jack Crawford burst into his classroom asking him to consult on another murder. It wasn’t that he hated what he did for a living, it was just that empathizing with killers had a way a fucking with one’s head. He was lost in thought when he suddenly saw a flash of brownish red fur out of the corner of his eye. Slowing down, he realized it was a medium sized dog who was limping down the side of the road. With the way the dog was limping, it had to have been wounded pretty badly. He pulled over and tried to approach the dog, moving slowly so he didn't frighten it. The dog shied away from him, limping away from him.

After a few failures to get near the dog, he got out the treats he kept in his car. This tactic seemed to get the dog’s attention and finally he got close and let Will pet him. Will took the dog home to wash him, hoping he could see the wound better if the dog wasn’t covered in mud. There was one wound that was a long cut that was probably acquired from the wooded areas around where he was found. Will used some leftover wound care and antibiotic ointment that he had from a recent incident where his dog, Buster had gotten a little cut on one of his front legs. He hoped the little bit of antibiotics would help with preventing infection for at least the night. There was a possibility of other wounds but Will couldn't find anymore. So if there was more, they were not visible wounds. 

He would have to take him to the vet so it wouldn’t get infected but for tonight it would have to do as it was already late and the emergency vet office was about a two and a half hour drive. Will would also have to find a new vet as his last one moved to a completely new location about a week ago. Will pulled out his laptop with a sigh, searching for good vet offices within about an hour to an hour and a half drive. Since the cut didn't seem to be a major emergency, Will decided it was best not to have to drive that far and possibly end up waiting an extremely long time to be seen. The emergency vet was the only one remotely close to plenty of remote cities in Virginia so he knew there would be multiple animals in way worse conditions than Winston, so he decided going to a vet in the morning was the best option. He knew living in a wooded area where even his neighbors lived about twenty minutes away, meant being far away from cities but it also always meant a long drive to run any errands. The dog, which he had named Winston, was laid next to Will as he searched, Will lazily petting behind his ears. There were few vet offices close enough for Will’s liking. The best rated one was called Lecter’s Animal Hospital, all the yelp reviews said the staff was kind and that the veterinarian was brilliant and that their animals loved him. A few reviews claimed the vet was a bit snobby but the good reviews outshined them. Will made sure they took walk-in appointments and put the address in his phone so it would be prepared for him in the morning.

In the morning, Will awoke with Winston laying next to him, with his head on his chest. He smiled, glad that the dog was taking a liking to him. The other dogs laid by his bed or in their own beds near the fireplace, Will had moved downstairs with the fogs when it had gotten cold so they could all stay in the warmest room. He carefully stood up and walked himself through the maze of dogs to let them out. Winston was the last dog out the door, his limp slowing him down. After getting ready, he called his coworker and friend, Beverly Katz to ask if she would be willing to check on the other dogs later if he ended up getting home late. He then got Winston in the car and started the drive to the vet's. Thankfully he didn’t have to give lectures that day so he was free unless Jack decided to call him to a crime scene. The drive was only about forty five minutes and once they arrived, Will carried Winston inside, not wanting to force him to walk when it caused him pain. The waiting room wasn’t empty but few people were there since it was pretty early in the morning. The receptionist was a young woman with dark long hair that framed her face, her name tag read Abigail. He had Winston sit by some chairs and headed over to the receptionist. She smiled at him as he walked over to the desk. 

“Hello, do you have an appointment or are you a walk-in?”

“Walk-in” Will replied and she nodded before grabbing a clipboard and some papers to fill out. 

“Fill these out and I’ll check you in once they’re done. If there are some things you don’t know the answer to, just leave it blank,” She said as she handed him the clipboard. Will gently placed Winston down and took a seat, letting Winston lay at his feet. He filled out the basic information as best he could. He had no idea if Winston had any of his shots so he’d probably have to get those as well. When he finished, he took the papers back up to Abigail where she finished checking him in.

About thirty minutes later after a few names had been called, one of the vet-techs walked out and called for Winston. Her name tag read Margot, she had curly auburn hair up in a ponytail. She weighed Winston and wrote it down on the clipboard she held. After, she led Will to an examination room where they would wait for the veterinarian. Will got Winston onto the table as they waited. The door opened and a striking man that was at least a few years older than him walked in, his dirty blonde, almost brown hair slicked back, some streaks of silver were able to be seen within his hair. The man was extremely attractive, his cheekbones and jawline were defined and sharp. Will had to admit he was attracted to the man, his eyes scanning him quickly, hoping the other man wouldn’t notice. Will could see that under his white doctor’s coat, he was wearing perfectly tailored suit pants that looked extremely expensive and Will could only assume the top he wore was just as expensive. He was worried the reviews about the man being stuck up were going to be accurate. He hoped that they weren’t right because he didn’t want to have to drive even further for a different vet with a lower rating to take the other jobs. 

“Hello I’m Doctor Lecter,” He said offering his hand to Will, which Will immediately shook, “The paperwork shows no history of shots, which he will need if he is to be treated here, so is that fine with you?” 

“Yea, I was unsure of his shot history as Winston was a stray that I found limping down the road last night, but assuming based on the way I found him, he probably hasn’t gotten them before. Um I did notice that he has a long cut on his hind leg, the left one, that's what I’m assuming caused the limping, but also I'm worried that he may have other non visible issues,” Will rambled. Doctor Lecter sighed and read the paperwork, probably checking the description of why Will and Winston were visiting the office. 

“I’ll have one of the nurses distribute his shots and set him up for x-rays to check if anything is fractured or broken. After his x-rays, I’ll examine the wound and see what needs to be done about that. You can wait in this room or the waiting room,” Doctor Lecter said before leaving, only for a nurse to replace him within a minute. The nurse, Margot yet again, gave Winston all the shots he needed as Will gently rubbed behind his ears, hoping it would keep it calm. Once she was done, she left Will to wait in the examination room as her and another nurse took Winston to get x-rays. Not too long after, Winston was returned soon followed by Doctor Lecter, who was going over his x-rays when he walked in. 

“He has a small fracture in his tibia on his left leg. The fracture will heal just fine but his leg needs a cast to prevent further damage. He’ll have to be put under general anesthesia but it won’t take long, ” he said as he showed Will, pointing toward the small fracture. He then walked around the table to examine Winston’s left leg, letting Will look over the x-rays. 

“The wound is superficial so cleaning it and applying antibiotic ointment will work to heal it. The cast won’t cover it so you should have no trouble cleaning it. I will also prescribe him some pills to help with pain from the fracture,” Doctor Lecter spoke as he cleaned the cut. Will watched him and Winston’s reactions the whole time, making sure he wasn't being caused any more pain. Will appreciated how gentle Doctor Lecter was with Winston, which was selling him on bringing the other dogs to him as well. Once the cut was cleaned and covered up, Doctor Lecter and some nurses took Winston to put the cast on. 

It didn’t take long before Doctor Lecter came back, although Winston was not with him. He was running a hand through his hair when he walked in, a few of the gelled strands breaking free and falling into his face. Oh god, Will couldn’t understand why he was so attracted to this man already, he barely even knew him. 

“We’re waiting for the anesthesia to wear off but I wanted to speak with you about coming back to get the cast removed. It’s a pretty small fracture so in four to five weeks is when you should come back. Mr. Graham, would you like to make an appointment for then or will you come in as a walk-in?” 

“An appointment would work fine. Should I just make one for then, when I go pay at the front desk?” 

“Yes, I just wanted to make sure you were aware we’d want to see you back. Abigail will be able to help you with that, I just wanted to let you know when we would expect you back. A nurse will bring Winston when the anesthesia wears off, which should be soon,” Doctor Lecter said before leaving the room. For some reason the man intrigued Will, possibly it was that he didn’t seem to take offense to Will avoiding eye contact as they spoke to each other. Will told himself that that was it and not that the man seemed to be gentle with animals and yet still seemed to have an intimidating personality or that the man was extremely attractive. Dear god, he needed to stop, he didn’t even know the veterinarian’s first name. 

Margot came in with Winston a few minutes later, a blue cast wrapped around his leg. Will went to the front desk and made an appointment for about four and a half weeks later. He headed home, anticipating the next time he’d see the vet. Maybe he could start the transfer of the other dogs over. Although he still wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about Doctor Lecter, he did like how he seemed caring towards the animals, not like he was just in the career because it made decent money. The reviews for the vet were almost all good except for a few people who disliked the vet, which wasn’t a big deal to him as the manners of the vet were not the main concern on Will’s mind. 

Will let the dogs out once he arrived home with Winston and they all went to play in the light coverage of snow from the night before. Winston did his best to try and play with the other dogs without hurting himself. Winston was a bit wobbly due to the cast but he seemed to be more active and happier. After calling the dogs in a while later, Will went about his regular routine, looking over the current case files. It was a frustrating case as there was no clear evidence left behind. Eventually, he decided to take a break from work and just relax with the dogs for the rest of the night. 

Throughout the week, Will’s mind brought up thoughts of Doctor Lecter. Will wasn’t sure why he kept thinking of the veterinarian. He thought the other man wasn’t the most interesting man when he met him but he kept thinking of him. He couldn’t explain his interest in the veterinarian but there was one. Will sighed and thought he might as well start transferring the other dogs over anyways. He decided to call and make an appointment for Max for a regular checkup. He couldn’t take all of his dogs in a single trip. Maybe seeing the veterinarian again could stop the random thoughts about him. 

A few days later, Will was heading to the vet’s office with Max in the backseat of his car. Once they arrived, he told Max to sit and went to the front desk to check in. Abigail smiled when she saw him.She seemed like such a friendly person from the few interactions Will had had with her. 

“Hello, Mr. Graham, appointment for Max right?”

“Hello, yes,”

“Okay since he’s new here you’ll have to fill out a form just so we have the basic information we need,” Abigail said and handed him a clipboard with the same forms he filled out last time but his information was written down already. She must have filled that part earlier when she realized he was bringing in a different dog. Will filled out all of Max’s shot information and health information that he had from his last visit with a veterinarian. The waiting room was busier than the last time he was there. 

The same nurse from his visit with Winston called him back and led them to an examination room. A young male vet tech passed them with a golden retriever puppy who was excitedly pulling him towards the door that led to the waiting room. Will smiled at the sight of the excited dog. Once inside the examination room, Margot left them to wait for Doctor Lecter. Within a few minutes, Doctor Lecter walked in, reading the paperwork on the clipboard. 

“Mr.Graham, you’re back soon,” 

“Max was due for a check up,” 

“Winston must be glad to have another dog around,”

“It helps him not be upset with having the cast on, has a friend to distract him from it” Doctor Lecter smiled as Will spoke. Oh god, his smile made him more attractive. Okay maybe Will was crushing on the veterinarian but it meant nothing, he barely even knew him. He hadn’t even learned the other man’s first name yet. He was just having a dumb little crush because the vet was good looking, it would go away soon enough. 

“Max looks perfectly healthy. Seems he has an amazing owner taking care of him” Doctor Lecter speaking drew Will out of his thoughts but the compliment caused him to blush. Really, god this crush is gonna end up causing him a lot of embarrassment. 

“Thank you! Honestly I probably take better care of my dogs then I do myself,” Doctor Lecter let out a quiet chuckle. 

“You’re free to go check out, the paperwork says he isn't due for shots for another few months so you can make an appointment for then or wait. Otherwise I’ll see you back in about two weeks with Winston for the cast removal,” Doctor Lecter said before holding the door open for Will and Max. Will smiled and headed back out to the front after thanking Doctor Lecter. He paid at the front desk and left. Hopefully his brain wouldn’t impulsively make him decide to make up a reason to go see the veterinarian. Will didn’t want to embarrass himself by showing up and having a stupid reason that would make everyone question if he was just messing with them. 

After heading home with Max, he spent a few hours working on fixing a boat motor in the shed while the dogs played in the snow. His mind was focused on his task at hand, thankfully no thoughts about his little crush on the veterinarian. Cleaning up and closing the shed, Will whistled before calling the dogs to follow him to the house. They all came running when they heard him since Will worked hard to train them. After having to chase a dog through the woods, Will decided he would need to train them a little more. Now they were trained enough that Will could whistle and they would direct their attention to him. He fed the dogs and ate a quick dinner before settling down for the night, the dogs laying in their respective beds, though Winston tried to climb into bed with Will. 

The rest of Will’s week went by with little to no thought of the attractive veterinarian. He didn’t really think of the vet until he got a reminder on his phone for the appointment that was in a couple of days. When he received the notification, he smiled at the thought of seeing the vet again. Will sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. Dear god this crush may end up being the death of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, i used Randall Tier's storyline sorta but changed it to fit this storyline soo yea mentions of violence and guns

Will’s phone ringing drew him out of his nightmare, he was soaked in his own sweat and panting when he woke. He sighed as he grabbed his phone. Jack Crawford was calling… at four in the morning. Shit that meant there was a crime scene. 

“Hey Jack, I'm guessing there’s a body?” Will said as he answered, putting his glasses on and sitting up. 

“Yep, I’ll text you the address. I know you took the day off from teaching but I need your insight on this crime scene Will,” 

“I’ll be there but I can’t stay long. I have to take Winston to the vet today. Just send me the address and I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Will said before hanging up. Hopefully the crime scene wasn’t too far of a drive because even after a quick shower and some coffee he’d be half asleep. He got up and took a quick shower, hoping it would wake him up at least enough that driving would be safe. After he was dressed, he made coffee and let the dogs out. He typed the address into his phone once the dogs were back inside and fed before heading to the crime scene. 

The crime scene was a lot more gruesome than Will was expecting to see this early in the morning. The victims were torn into multiple pieces. It had been a little over an hour drive to get there and the forensics team was working on analyzing the evidence they could on site. Beverly gave him a small smile as he walked over. 

“You look half dead,” She said which caused Will to chuckle. 

“I only slept like three hours before I was woken to drive an hour for a crime scene,” Will said as Jack walked over to them. Jack told him what they already had based on the evidence. He then kicked everyone away from the scene. Will closed his eyes and put himself in the mindset of the killer. He was able to recreate the scene and use the evidence to find the killer’s design. This killer wanted to be a beast, this was evident with their animalistic killings. Once he removed himself from the killer’s mindset, he told Jack what he had figured out. Jack let him leave the scene with the promise that he would bring his profile analysis in the next morning. Will checked his watch as he got into his car. Shit if there was any traffic he’d be running late. It was already after 6:30 and he had scheduled Winston’s appointment for nine.. 

The drive back to his house was uneventful but now he would have to deal with getting Winston in the car and getting the others back inside after letting them out. It was almost eight when Will had arrived home and let the dogs out. They played in the snow while he grabbed Winston’s harness and vest. He called for Winston, hoping it would be an easy effort today. Winston ran over to him and Buster followed him. Will put Winston’s harness on. He sat there letting Will and not struggling. God he was thankful he had well trained dogs. He called the other dogs inside, holding onto Winston’s leash. Once they were all inside, he locked up the house and took Winston to the car. Will knew they would be a bit late but thankfully only a few minutes late. It was only about 8:10 so he should be at the vet’s office by 9:10. He was sure that the veterinarian would understand his reason for running behind. They arrived at the vet’s office right about when Will suspected they would. 

When, They walked in, Will expected to see Abigail at the front desk but instead he found Doctor Lecter talking to one of the nurses. It wasn’t Margot, the one he had seen the last two times he had been there but a female with long black hair pulled up into a bun but a few strands falling forward to frame her face. They were both distracted, not noticing hi, walking into the clinic. 

“Hannibal, I know how to work the front desk, plus you and Abigail don’t live far, she’ll be back soon” She said. Hannibal, that must be his first name. Abigail and him live together? Will removed himself from his thoughts and walked over to the desk. 

“I know but I was just making sure,” He said and looked up. “Mr. Graham, lovely to see you,”

“Sorry I’m late, got an emergency call into work, “ Will gave an apologetic smile. 

“It’s okay, Chiyoh can check you in and I’ll take you and Winston into the back after,” Will nodded and gave Chiyoh his information so she could impute it into the computer. Once she was done, Hannibal led Will and Winston towards the back. They went to the back room and Hannibal had Will put Winston on one of the tables. Hannibal got to work on removing the cast. The door opened a few minutes later and Abigail walked in carrying a carrier. 

“Hey dad oh and hi Mr. Graham,” Abigail said and smiled at them. Hannibal looked up and smiled at her. Oh he’s her dad, that makes sense. Hannibal went back to work on removing the cast. Thankfully Winston was being extremely well behaved. 

“Hi” Will said quietly, giving her a small smile. Abigail set the carrier down on one of the other tables in the room. Hannibal finished removing Winston’s cast and helped him off the table. 

“He should be all healed up, If he does show signs of pain you can bring him in. Keep an eye on how he plays with Max, just cause the area may be sensitive for a few days,” Hannibal said and Will nodded as he put Winston’s leash back on. The vet still assumed that he only had Winston and Max, he was in for a shock when Will would bring in four other dogs when they needed their annual check ups.  
“If you let me clock in, I can get your bill for you,” Abigail piped up, realizing Winston’s appointment was over. 

“Yea, I’ll wait for you to clock in,” He said and Abigail led him out of the back room towards where the break room is so she could quickly clock back into work. He waited in the hallway as she did so, smiling at Margot who walked by with a puppy. They then headed out to the front where Abigail pulled up his information and printed his bill, Will paid, said his goodbyes and left. Once in his car, he realized how tired he actually was. He wasn’t sleeping well, the cases he was working on were leaving him with nightmares. Will sighed softly and leaned his head against the top of his steering wheel. Work was draining him. He lifted his head after a minute, he could rest when he got home. 

He drove home and when he got home, he allowed the dogs to go out for a bit. He called them in soon after before curling up in his bed. He was so tired but he knew that his sleep would be haunted with nightmares. He laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling for a bit before getting up and writing his profile down. 

A few days later, another victim of the animalistic killer was found. The snow was covered in blood and the body was torn into pieces that were spread across the snowy field. Will sighed as he pulled on his gloves before walking pass the police tape. His coworkers are already analyzing the teeth marks on the body parts. 

“These bite marks weren’t made by humans, they’re too sharp. Closer to a bear’s or wolf’s. Are we sure it’s not an animal?” Brian Zeller asked as he looked at the victims arm. 

“An animal wouldn’t do this unless they were trained to do this,” Beverly Katz yelled over to them as she walked over. 

“The killer thinks they're an animal, they're not using an animal. Possibly they’re using animal teeth to make these bite marks. The killer will have knowledge of animals and access to their bones,” Will said leaning down to look at the bite marks Brian was looking at. 

“So our killer wants to be an animal?” Jack asked.

“They most likely have species dysphoria, They believe they’re in the body of the wrong species, They feel they are truly an animal. Possibly they went to therapy or were treated for their species dysphoria,” 

“I’ll have someone check the database for anything like that,” Jack said. Will had done some research about how one could train animals to kill after the last crime scene as it had looked like it was done by animals but this killer wanted to show they were the beast, that this was their design. They finished up at the scene before heading back to the lab to do more analysis on the teeth marks. They needed to determine what kind of animal teeth their killer was using. It was a rough few hours but they finally found a match. It was a relief because it gave them some more information about the killer. After the teeth marks were matched the team were able to go home for the night while they looked for matches of people with species dysphoria and who worked with skeletons of extinct animals through their database, hoping they would get a hit. Will spent the rest of the night with his dogs but it was interrupted with a call from Jack. 

“Hey Jack, Is there a new development on the case?” He asked after answering his phone. 

“A psychiatrist called Quantico after seeing the message we had left asking if they knew about species dysphoria, they used to have a patient who had this condition. We have a name, Randall Tier, he works in a museum. Would you be willing to come with me so you can profile him?” Jack explained. 

“Sure, should I meet you at Quantico?” 

“No, I’ll come pick you up, I’m leaving Quantico right now,” 

“I’ll be waiting,” Will said before hanging up. He made himself another cup of coffee and ate a quick sandwich. Will let the dogs out as he waited on the porch for Jack’s car to pull into his driveway. When he did see the black suv, he whistled for the dogs to come over to him. After letting them back inside he went over to Jack’s car. 

“So you think this Randall Tier guy is our killer?” He asked, getting into the car. 

“So far he’s all we have, he fits the profile,” Will nodded as Jack drove towards the museum Tier worked at. Once there they questioned Randall, who acted completely defensive towards all of their questions. He was acting guilty. They didn’t have enough to arrest him, all they knew was that he had species dysphoria and that he had access to the skulls of cave bears. 

The next day went by normally until late that night Will thought he heard something and went to check if anyone was pulling up to his house. Buster slipped through the small opening and ran towards the woods. Will called after him trying to keep the other dogs inside. He heard a whimper from the woods which caused Will to grab his rifle and pull on a jacket before pushing his way out the door past his other dogs. He found Buster right by the opening of the woods, blood on his back. Shit shit shit. Will cursed under his breath when he heard a growl from somewhere in the woods. Will ran back to his house, holding Buster against his chest. Once inside he locked the doors and tried to check Buster’s wounds. He heard the growls from outside. Shit, this wasn't an animal. Will dialed Jack’s number as quickly as possible. He stood up, dropping his rifle and got his work gun ready, just in case. Jack’s voice came through Will’s phone. 

“Jack, I think our killer is at my house,” He said. If the killer was Randall Tier, he must have followed Jack’s car the other night or he figured out who Will was and decided to follow him from Quantico today. Will didn’t listen for Jack’s response, he wanted to stay alert if the killer was able to get into his house.

He heard a window break at his side and Randall Tier had broken through wearing the skull of a cave bear as a mask. Will shot the other man in the shoulder, hoping to disway him at least a little bit. Tier stopped and Will kept his gun pointed at him, hoping he would hear sirens soon. When Tier moved to attack, Will aimed and shot his leg. His dogs were all in the corner behind him, Winston standing over Buster in a protective manner. Randall knocked him over, the gun slipping out of his hand and being pushed out of his reach. Will tried to flip them so he had power over him and could hold him down until he could hear sirens. He eventually was able to flip them over, using most of his strength to hold the other man down. He tried to pull the man’s mask off so he couldn’t use it as a weapon against him. 

Finally Will could hear sirens, thankfully Quantico was close enough that if they sped they could get to Will’s quickly. He kept Randall pinned down, hearing the cars stop soon after. His door had to be broken down since Will couldn’t open it. He’d have to call and get that fixed in the morning. His house was a scene for now, he’d be in a hotel for the rest of the night. Will let the police take Randall Tier and told Jack what happened when he was pulled aside. Once he was able to, Will sat with Buster, trying to check how his wounds looked. After, he packed the dogs up into his car and looked for a motel or hotel that would allow him to stay with the dogs for the night. Beverly walked over to him while he was doing so. 

“Will, you and the dogs can stay at mine for the night or a few nights if you can’t get your door fixed tomorrow,” 

“I don’t want to impose Bev,” 

“You won’t, my car’s at Quantico, if you want we can just take your car to my house and drive to work together in the morning. Does Buster need medical help right now?” 

“Okay I’ll stay with you and no, thankfully the cuts aren’t deep, I can clean and cover his wounds but I’ll take him to the vet in the morning just to be safe,” Beverly nodded and got in his car. 

“I already told Jack I was gonna have you come with me, so we can head to my house,” She said. Will drove them to her house. He was thankful for a friend like Bev. He knew she didn’t have the biggest home but she was kind enough to help him avoid the hassle of getting six dogs into a tiny motel room. They got the dogs into Beverly’s house and Will went to wash Buster off and clean his wounds. Beverly set up the guest room for him. One Buster was all patched up, Will let him go interact with the other dog. Will joined Bev in her living room. 

“Are you hurt?” She asked when he sat down. 

“Sore from being knocked over, I’ll probably have a few bruises but nothing too bad,” He said. The pair spent some time watching the dogs and talking before exhaustion hit them both. They both headed to their respective rooms for the night after Will took the dogs out for a few minutes. The dogs followed Will into his room, so used to sleeping into the same room as Will. 

In the morning, Will found that he was covered in bruises and scratches, a few visible on his face. Once they were all ready, Will let the dogs out since Beverly was okay with them staying at hers until Will’s front door was fixed. He got Buster into the car, planning to drop Bev off at Quantico then head to the vet’s just to make sure Buster was completely okay. He dropped Beverly off then started heading towards the vet office. Will arrived at the vet’s office and carried Buster inside, once inside he put him down. Abigail looked up at him. 

“Hello, Mr. Graham, is everything okay?” She asked. They had only seen him about a week ago and he was walking in with a few scratches present on his face. 

“Mostly, my dog, Buster, got attacked last night. He wasn’t too badly hurt but I thought I would bring him in just to be safe,” 

“I’ll get you the paperwork and my dad will be able to check out if he’s okay in a minute,” She said, getting up from her chair to grab a clipboard that had the walk in paperwork on it. She handed it to him before heading into the back, possibly getting to go get her dad. Will filled out the paperwork with Buster’s information. He’d have to clarify that it wasn’t actually an animal that attacked him. Hannibal walked out from the back with Abigail, who took the paperwork from Will when he was done with it. Hannibal walked around the front desk and bent down towards Buster. 

“What kind of animal attacked him?” 

“It wasn’t exactly an animal. I work for law enforcement and a killer that was wearing an animal suit showed up at my house last night, he hurt Buster but I’m pretty sure he’s okay cause I checked his wounds once everything had calmed down,” Will rambled. Hannibal nodded as he listened to what Will said. 

“Okay, let’s bring him back and I’ll check his wounds,” Hannibal said, standing up. Will picked up Buster and followed Hannibal into the back. They went into an examination room and Hannibal got things to clean the wounds out. Will set Buster on the table and leaned against the wall. Hannibal was checking the wounds on Buster’s back. 

“He seems fine, I’ll put some antibiotic ointment on it then prescribe some for you to apply on them for a few days to avoid infection,” 

“Thanks,” Will said quietly as Hannibal put the ointment on the wound. 

“Do you get killers attacking you in your home often?” Hannibal asked, curiously. 

“No, usually I don’t work in the field but now that I am, possibly I just need to be more careful and see if people are following me,” Will said, chewing on his bottom lip. 

“Did you get hurt?” Hannibal had finished applying the ointment and was now just leaning against the table. 

“A few scratches and bruises. I’ve had worse injuries though so it’s not too bad,” Will gave him a small smile. 

“Well I’m glad both you and Buster are okay,” Hannibal said and smiled at him. Will felt his cheeks heat up and looked down trying to hide the redness spreading across his face. Was the veterinarian flirting with him? No, he was probably just being kind. The veterinarian probably had a beautiful wife or extremely handsome husband waiting at home, he wouldn’t be interested in Will. 

“Thanks and same, I prefer not spending my time in the hospital,” Will joked. Hannibal smiled at him and grabbed a cone from one of the cabinets. 

“I’m done with Buster. Just apply the ointment once a day and make sure the wound stays clean, you can cover it to make sure and I would recommend keeping a cone on him so he doesn’t lick it or try to bite at it,” Hannibal said handing Will the cone. Will felt their hands brush as he grabbed it and nearly started blushing again. If this crush continued any longer he’d end up making a complete embarrassment of himself one day. 

“Thank you, for seeing him so soon after I came in,” Will said as he put the cone on Buster. 

“We aren’t super busy in the morning and you and your dogs are valued clients,” Hannibal said. It was like he was trying to make him blush. Was he flirting? He couldn’t even think correctly right now. 

“Still thank you,” Hannibal smiled at him once again. Will’s heart nearly skipped a beat. Please his smile made the other man even more attractive. Will smiled back as Hannibal opened the door for him. They walked towards the front together, Hannibal walking towards the cabinet with the medication inside. Abigail printed up the visit summary and bill for Will. She handed it to him once Hannibal walked over with the antibiotic ointment. Will paid and thanked them before heading out to his car with Buster. Once in his car, Will leaned his head against his steering wheel. This crush only seemed to be becoming more and more intense. The veterinarian smiling at him was enough to make his heart race and make Will blush. He was going to end up embarrassing himself one of these days. He sighed and lifted his head, he needed to head into work and call to get his front door fixed, he couldn’t just sit in his car and stress over a dumb crush. The crush would go away, he had to go give lectures and fix the damages from the night before. 

Will went to start his car but then realized he'd have to drive back to Beverly’s to drop Buster off with the other dogs. This meant driving past Quantico then having to turn around and drive back to Quantico. Beverly had already told him that she’d head back home to let the dogs out for a bit later in the day, since he had some lectures after ten and so he could spend any free time he had getting his door fixed. Will sighed and looked at the vet’s office in front of him. Maybe they would be willing to keep Buster for a few hours. Will got out of his car and grabbed Buster, asking wouldn’t hurt. He walked in again, putting Buster down, and both Lecter’s looked up. 

“Sorry, would you be willing to keep Buster for a few hours, I have some lectures at work and I need to go fix my front door and it’s a hassle to drive past my work to drop him off where I was staying last night. But, I’ll come pick him up once my lectures are done since he’s trained enough to stay while I’m working on my door. It’s okay if you can’t or won’t,” Will rambled. Hannibal chuckled softly and smiled. 

“Of course, we’ll watch him for a few hours,” Hannibal said, writing something down on a card, “If you end up getting out after we close, this is my number, just call,” he added as he handed the card to Will. 

“Thank you so much,” Will said and smiled at them. He gave Buster to Hannibal, thanking him yet again. He said his goodbyes, promising to be back in a few hours. Hopefully he would be back after his lectures but having a temporary FBI badge made it so his job could be completely unpredictable. He hoped today would just go as planned especially after the previous night. He was so grateful that the Lecter’s were willing to watch Buster, making his day a little easier. Will drove to Quantico, preparing for his lectures of the day. His lectures went by with no interruptions thankfully. Beverly came to check in on him during one of the breaks between classes, but that was it. 

“How’s Buster doing?” 

“He’s fine. Still at the vet’s, I asked if they could keep him for a few hours so I didn’t have to drive to yours then turn around and drive back here, especially since the vet’s if far enough from here anyways’” 

“I’m glad he’s okay, I’m on my lunch break so I’m gonna go let your dogs out. Are you heading to yours once your next lecture is done?” 

“Yea, I’m gonna go fix the door but during my next lecture Alana is coming in, so I may head out soon after she gets here,” 

“Well I can bring the dog’s to your house in about half an hour?” 

“That would be great but I don’t want to bother you with that,” 

“I’m offering, Will. See you later,,” She said before leaving his classroom. Will sighed and went back to setting things up for Alana. When she arrived, he explained why he was leaving a bit early and she told him to just go ahead. Will thanked her before heading out from work. The door wouldn’t take too long since he had all the things he would need already and it had just been damaged on the hinges. When he got to his house, Beverly was already there with five of his dogs. The dogs were running around in the snow. Will went and got his tool box before walking over to Beverly. 

“Hey, If you need anything else Will, I'm willing to help you,” 

“Thank you Bev, I think I’ll be fine. The door is an easy enough fix, the window will need a professional but I can board it up for a few days,”

“Well I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” She said before leaving. Will waved to her and got to work on his front door. Just like he expected fixing the door didn’t take too long. He checked the time, hoping he would have enough time to fix the window and get to the vet’s before they closed, not wanting to burden Hannibal and Abigail. If he worked fast, he could possibly get there in time. He got wood from the shed and quickly got to work on boarding up the windows. 

Once he was done, he called the dogs inside before locking the doors and getting in his car. He checked the time and sighed, he would get there a bit after the vet’s office closed since it was a long drive. Will started the drive towards the vet’s office. Once he was close enough, he dialed Hannibal’s number since the office had closed a few minutes earlier. 

“Hello,” Hannibal answered the phone after a few rings. 

“Hey, It’s Will Graham, I’m a few minutes away from the office, I just wanted to let you know,” 

“Okay, I’m still here so I’ll unlock the door and be waiting up front for you,” 

“Thank you so much,” Will said before hanging up. He pulled into the vet office’s parking lot a few minutes later. Will walked into the office, where Hannibal was sitting at the front desk reading a book. He looked up when he heard Will. Shit was it just the two of them? Time to hope he doesn’t make an embarrassment of himself. 

“Sorry you had to stay after closing, I tried to finish up with everything as fast as I could,” 

“Mr. Graham, it’s fine. I’m usually still here at this time anyways,” Hannibal said, standing up from his chair. 

“Are you here alone?” Will asked, curiosity getting the best of him. 

“Yea, Abigail’s girlfriend came and picked her up about an hour ago but sometimes I enjoy time alone,” He said, smiling at him. Will smiled back, feeling his cheeks heat up. Oh god he was blushing again. He was probably bright red, god he wished he could read the vet’s mind to see if he was thinking that Will was weird. 

“Sometimes being alone is preferable,” Will said quietly. Hannibal nodded. 

“You can come back with me to get Buster,” Hannibal said and opened the door leading to the back. Will smiled and walked through the door. Being alone with the man, he was hopelessly crushing on, sounded like the worst idea. What if he said or did something stupid or embarrassing and had to find a new vet for the dogs so he didn’t have to face awkwardness after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways i'm trying my best but my brain is just like nah. leave kudos and comments if you want. hopefully i'll get more hannibal and will interactions into the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannibal led Will towards the back where Buster was asleep in a cage big enough for Winston and Max. Will smiled that they had given Buster a lot of space even though Will had asked for their help unexpectedly. The veterinarian opened the cage for Will and then leaned against a counter that was across from the kennel. Will picked up Buster gently, not wanting to wake the dog. Though Buster did wake but laid in Will’s arms after getting in a comfortable position, obviously still sleepy.

“Thank you so much for watching him,” Will said, giving Hannibal an appreciative smile. He was thankful that the other man was genuinely easy to talk to. He was glad that the other man also seemed to pick up on Will’s tendency to avoid eye contact and didn’t try and force him to maintain it. Will was also thankful for that as it meant he wouldn’t blush everytime Hannibal looked at him.

“Again, it was no problem, Buster’s a good dog so really it wasn’t a hassle,”

“Still thank you, Do I owe you anything?” Will asked, holding Buster to his chest. Hannibal smiled as he watched Will’s movements.

“You’re welcome and no it’s fine you don’t”

“Are you sure? I feel I should pay you especially cause you’re here after hours,”

“Mr. Graham, it is fine. You don’t owe anything,”

“Thanks again, I should probably go, I’m sure you have plans for the night and I don’t want to keep you here any longer than I already have,”

“Well, you’re always welcome to bring your dogs here,” Hannibal said as he headed back out to the front. Will followed, still holding Buster against his chest. Hannibal held the doors open for him until they were at the front door.

“Do you need help getting Buster into your car?” He asked once they reached the front door. Will shook his head. 

“No I should be fine, thank you though,” Will said quietly before saying goodbye and thanking him again and heading to his car. He got Buster in the back before getting in his car. That wasn’t the worst experience of his life. He didn’t embarrass himself thankfully. Will pulled out of the vet’s parking lot and headed home. He didn’t know when he’d be back at the vet’s so maybe by the next visit his crush would be gone. That’s if he could keep random thoughts of Hannibal away. 

Two weeks went by, Will spent his days giving lectures or at a crime scene then coming home to have lazy nights with the dogs. After a stressful day of work, Will found himself thinking of Hannibal. He was reading a book when the veterinarian’s smile popped into his mind. Time wasn’t gonna make this crush go away was it. He kept having random thoughts of the vet. Sometimes he would even start thinking of a reason to go see the vet. Maybe he could take Zoe and Ellie in for a check up. Will sighed and grabbed his phone, dialing Beverly’s number. He needed to talk to someone, get his mind off the vet. 

“Hey Will, what’s up?” Beverly asked when she answered his call. 

“Hi, I think I’m crushing on the dog’s vet,” Will said quickly and Beverly laughed on the other end. 

“I’m not laughing at you sorry but what about the veterinarian is making you crush on her or him?” Beverly asked. Thankfully Bev was never judgemental about Will’s sexuality and always supported him. He was glad he had someone that accepted he was bisexual and he could talk to her about this type of stuff. 

“He’s really handsome, kind and he has the most gorgeous smile… Bev I barely know the man and I’m thinking about his smile and what having dinner with him would be like,” Will sighed as he laid back on his bed. He was gone for a man that he barely knew. 

“Will, I know you think its a bad thing to like him but maybe you should ask him out,” Of course she would encourage him to ask the veterinarian out. She had wanted him to ask Alana Bloom out when he was into her. 

“Honestly he’s probably married. What if he’s straight?” 

“Was he wearing a ring the last time you saw him? And you won’t know if he’s straight or not unless you ask,” Shit she had a point, but still he couldn’t just ask the other man out. He didn’t have confidence to believe that, even if the other man was single and into men, he would be attracted to him. 

“Not that I remember, but he sees me because of my dogs, why would he even wanna go out with me even if he was single and I had the guts to ask him out,” Will said, sighing after he spoke. 

“Because you’re an amazing person and I’m sure he would see that,” 

“You’re my friend meaning that you are biased,” 

“Ask him out, Will. Try and maybe you’ll have a date after the next time you see him. Look I just want to see you find someone who makes you happy and sometimes finding that person requires stepping out of your comfort zone,” 

“Fine, I will. If he rejects me, you're helping me find a new vet and if I can’t you’re taking my dogs in,” 

“Will, stop being so dramatic. You better tell me what happens,” Beverly said and Will chuckled softly. Him and Beverly continued to talk for a little longer before they both decided they needed to get sleep before work the next morning. Will laid in bed, thinking about what Bev had said. He could at least try that, rather than just making up dumb reasons to see the vet and hoping the crush would go away. He’d make an appointment for Zoe in the next few days and maybe he’ll have the guts to ask the doctor out. Will knew he’d probably chicken out then end up just back at the vet’s to have another one of the dog’s get a check up. They must be so confused on why he keeps coming back with one dog at a time. Shit what if they think he’s weird. He needed to get out of his own head. He could do this, he would be okay. 

A few days later, Will was in the car with Zoe on the way to the vet's office. Zoe usually needed more check ups than the other dogs to make sure her teeth weren’t causing her pain and were still healthy. It was an actual excuse to be heading towards the vet’s office, rather than making up some dumb excuse just to see Hannibal. When he arrived, Abigail and Hannibal were both in the waiting room. Hannibal was talking to another client, who seemed to be rambling about their cat. Abigail smiled at Will when he walked over, handing him the clipboard to write down Zoe’s information. The other client left after a few minutes and Will handed the clipboard back to Abigail. 

“Mr. Graham, I must ask, how many dogs do you have?” Hannibal said once they were the only three in the waiting room. Will chuckled softly. 

“Well I’ve brought in four of the six dogs I have,” 

“You have six dogs? Isn’t it a hassle to not bring in more than one dog?” Abigail asked, her eyes wide. 

“Honestly I did the same thing with their last vet,” 

“I was starting to think you just liked seeing us,” Hannibal said, leaning against the counter. 

“Well I guess that's part of it too,” Will said and Hannibal chuckled softly. Abigail smiled at them. 

“If you’re gonna flirt with my dad, you can go ahead and flirt in a room without me in it,” Abigail said jokingly, but it still caused Will to turn bright red. Hannibal cleared his throat and stood up straight. 

“Let’s head to the back, Mr. Graham,” Hannibal said and opened the door for them to go through. Will followed him into an examination room. He was still a bit pink from Abigail’s comment. Was his crush on the veterinarian obvious? Will pulled himself from his thoughts as they entered the room. He put Zoe on the table as Hannibal walked around to the other side of the table. 

“Did you plan on bringing in each dog separately or were you not joking about liking to see us?” Hannibal asked as he pulled on some gloves. 

“Buster and Winston weren’t planned um but yea uh I did kinda bring Max and Zoe in separately on purpose,” Will admitted quietly. 

“Why is that?” Shit how would he respond. He can’t just outright admit he has a crush on Hannibal. 

“I like talking to you,” Will said, it wasn’t exactly a lie. He did find the other man interesting. He was just avoiding telling the other man that he thought he was extremely attractive and wouldn’t mind if they had a romantic relationship rather than a platonic one. 

“Well you could’ve just asked me to go get coffee instead of bringing your dogs in one at a time,” Hannibal said. Will chuckled quietly before chewing on his lip. He probably meant in a friendly way not a date. 

“Then, would you like to get coffee sometime,” 

“That would be nice,” Hannibal said, smiling at Will before looking down and continuing Zoe’s check up. Will knew that the coffee “date” was most likely friendly and had no romantic intentions from Hannibal’s side but it still made him happy to think that he agreed to spend time with Will. He pulled himself from his thoughts and watched Hannibal. 

“Zoe is in perfect health. Her teeth are healthy and well taken care of so they shouldn’t cause her any issues anytime soon,” Hannibal said once he finished the check up. 

“That's good, I was actually worried they may cause her some pain,” Will said, petting Zoe as he spoke. 

“Do you feed her soft food?” 

“I actually hand make all my dog’s food, Buster got sick from some dry food once and I decided to just start making their food so I knew exactly what was in their food,” 

“If you’d be willing to provide me a list of what you put in their food that would be great. It’s fine if you don’t want too, I’m just asking cause I’m curious,” 

“I’ll write a list the next time i make their food and bring it to you one day,” 

“Thank you, plus having the list actually helps if there is ever a need for a change in any of the dog’s diets.” Hannibal said as he opened the door for Will. Will picked Zoe up before leaving the room. They walked toward the front together and Hannibal whispered something to Abigail before saying goodbye to Will and heading back into the back. Abigail smiled at Will and printed up the visit summary and bill for him. Once he paid he said goodbye to Abigail before heading out and getting in his car. Will pulled out his phone and typed a message out to Beverly: 

_ that was an eventful visit, i’ll tell you about it tomorrow at work  _

He knew she would want to know what happened almost immediately but he still had to fully process what had happened himself. He drove home after putting his phone back in his pocket. Once he was home, he immediately let the dogs out and decided to try and get some work done on the projects he was working on that have been piling up in his shed. He had gotten so distracted in his work that he didn’t realize his phone had gone off a few times. 

He had gone inside later that night to find messages from Jack , Beverly and an unknown number, First he checked Jack’s messages knowing they had to do with work. 

_ Do you have time between your lectures to come look at some crime scene photos and write up a profile tomorrow? _

Will typed back a response, telling him that he could stop by during his lunch or after his last class of the day before checking Beverly’s message. 

_ wait at least tell me if you asked him out  _

Will rolled his eyes as he read her message, of course that’s what Bev wanted to know about. 

_ sorta, he suggested i ask him to get coffee then i asked him if he wanted to get coffee _

Finally, Will checked the message from the unknown number, although it look familiar 

_ Mr. Graham, It seems we forgot to set a date for us to get coffee. Oh it’s Hannibal Lecter by the way.  _

Hannibal saved his number? Will typed a response after saving the contact to his phone 

_ please call me will, and i should be free this weekend if that works for you?  _

Will was shocked that Hannibal was even willing to go through with the coffee date. He was sure it was just a joke between them and that it would never actually happen. Will got up and fed the dogs before making himself a quick dinner. He wasn’t a super talented cook and didn’t really bother to cook unless he had company so a simple and quick dinner was normal for him. His phone went off indicating a new message and he checked it a few minutes later. 

_ This weekend works perfectly. How does Saturday afternoon sound?  _

_ saturday afternoon sounds great! _

Now he just had to hope he wouldn’t have to deal with any crime scenes on Saturday. Although he wasn’t actually an agent, his temporary badge still made it so that he had a completely unpredictable job. 

The rest of Will’s week was boring, besides from when he told Bev about him and Hannibal getting coffee on Saturday. She got so excited for him even though he kept insisting it was just as friends. Otherwise, there weren’t any new crime scenes and he just had to give lectures. This made him slightly afraid that Saturday morning he would be called to a crime scene. Saturday morning came around and Will woke to go about his normal routine. He was glad that he wasn’t woken by Jack calling him about a new crime scene and killer. Will let the dogs out before taking a quick shower and getting ready. He had to leave an hour earlier than they were meeting as they had agreed to meet at a shop in Baltimore. He still had a while before he had to leave, so he read a book on his porch while the dogs ran around the front of his house. 

Eventually, it was time for Will to leave so he called the dogs in before getting into his car. He drove towards the coffee shop that he was meeting Hannibal at, hoping there wouldn’t be too much traffic on the drive there. The drive took a few minutes longer than he expected as there was a bit of traffic once he was in Baltimore. When he pulled into the parking lot, he messaged Hannibal that he had arrived after parking. Once Hannibal responded that he had also arrived they met up and ordered their coffees before finding somewhere to sit. 

“Wiil, you said you work for law enforcement, right?” Hannibal asked once they had sat down with their coffees. They ended up sitting at a bench in a park near the coffee shop once they had gotten their coffees. 

“Sometimes, I’m actually a psychology professor at Quantico, but I have a temporary badge so I can consult on crime scenes as a profiler,” 

“Psychology? That’s interesting, but why not become a full time agent,” 

“I never passed the psych evaluation to become an agent,” Will admitted, giving Hannibal a small smile, “What made you want to become a veterinarian?” 

“My younger sister Mishca, she has a love for animals, I guess working with animals makes me feel closer to her. She lives in France currently so I rarely see her,” 

“Are you and your sister close?” 

“Yea, We really only had each other after our parents passed. I mean we lived with our aunt and uncle so we had family but we understood each other,” 

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Will said quietly. He understood slightly, his mother had passed when he was young but he never really knew her. 

“It’s okay, I was young when it happened. Do you have any siblings?” Hannibal asked. 

“Nope, Only child. Maybe that and moving around a lot led to me being an introvert,” Will joked, hoping to lighten the mood. Hannibal chuckled and smiled at him. Will felt heat rising to his cheeks and looked down, hoping Hannibal wouldn’t notice the blush. He looked up again when he felt a little more composed. 

“Wait, I’m curious where your accent is from, I figured you were european but I wasn’t sure from where,” Will asked curiously as the thought popped into his head. 

“I’m originally from Lithuania, but I lived in France and Italy as well before I came here for university,” 

“Why did you come here for university rather than staying in Europe?” 

“I got a scholarship, originally I was going to be a surgeon but I decided to go to veterinary school after a few years,” 

“Oh that makes sense,” Will mumbled. 

The pair ended up talking for a few hours longer. Leaving the bench at one point to walk around the city. Will realized that he was falling for Hannibal even more now that he was getting to know him. They said their goodbyes since Will had to get home to the dogs since it had been a few hours and he still had an hour drive home. 

Once Will was home, all he could think about the other man. He walked through the woods with the dogs, letting them run ahead and play. Will called Beverly when he got back as they had been messaging as he was walking with the dogs. He told her about how the coffee date had gone, since he didn’t want Brian and Jimmy budging into their conversation if they had talked about it at work. When their conversation ended, Will laid in bed, smiling at his ceiling. He was crushing even more now and he was sure he would do something dumb and embarass himself if it continued to grow into a larger crush. 

The next few days were extremely bland. Will just had lectures and spent a few hours in the lab each day since they had a bit of evidence to go through on a scene from the previous week. Though Hannibal had messaged him a few times during the week, each time Will excitedly grabbed his phone then waited a few minutes so he didn’t seem like he was obsessively waiting at his phone. Though tonight was different, Hannibal called Will instead of texting him. Will answered, confused as to why the veterinarian was calling him so late and at all. 

“Hello,” Will said as he answered the phone. He was laying back on his couch watching the dogs curl up in front of the space heaters since he had placed his book down to answer the phone. 

“Hello Will, I was curious if you had any plans for this weekend? Abigail is taking a trip with her girlfriend and will be gone for the weekend and I thought maybe we could have dinner,” Hannibal spoke quickly. Was he nervous to ask Will over? 

“Um yea I’m free. That would be nice” 

“Great, I’ll send you my address later,” Hannibal said. Will was shocked that Hannibal was asking him over. They talked for a few more minutes though Will wasn’t exactly sure what about as he had been lost in his thoughts. Will smiled as he fell asleep that night. Maybe he had a chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so messy i dont even know what im doing ok bye


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Hannibal have a date

The next morning, Will went about his normal routine before being interrupted by his phone ringing. Jack’s the only person that calls this early in the morning. He thought as he grabbed his phone off his nightstand. Will answered without checking the caller ID since he was pretty positive it was Jack. Jack’s voice boomed through the other end as he told Will he;d be picking him up on the way to a crime scene. Will sighed and told Jack he would be waiting then finished getting ready for the day. Will checked the calendar, he had dinner with Hannibal the next day. Hopefully he wouldn’t end up being in the lab for most of the next few days. He was silently hoping it would be a simple case but he knew Jack never called him to work simple cases.

Jack arrived about twenty minutes later and Will gathered the dogs into the house before getting in Jack’s car.

“I’m guessing I’m gonna be needed in the lab after the crime scene?” Will asked as he buckled his seat belt.

“It looks like it’s the Chesapeake Ripper,” Jack said, annoyance clear in his voice. Will had heard about the Ripper, though he had never worked one of his cases.

“Could it be a copycat?” Will asked and Jack dropped some photos in his lap.

“Possibly but Zeller and Price said that it has multiple similarities that match the MO of the Ripper,”

“It could match in multiple ways but still be a different killer just using the Ripper’s namesake to hide that they are a separate killer,” Will said while looking at the photos.

“Those photos were the ones on TattleCrime. Lounds found the scene, called it in but took photos first,”

“Of course Lounds did,” Will said, rolling his eyes.

“What do you think from the photos? Is it the Ripper?”

“I can’t say until I’m at the scene. The MO is similar enough that the photos aren’t telling me anything,” Will said before looking out the window. He watched as the scenery passed by, lost in his own thoughts once he ended the conversation with Jack. Cases like the Ripper’s were hard to recover from and He may have to cancel on Hannibal if he’s not in a great headspace later in the day. He didn’t want work to interfere with his everyday life but sometimes he couldn’t break himself from the killer’s mindset and would get stuck. Will sighed and looked back at the scene photos that Freddie Lounds had taken. The crime scene looked like it could be the Ripper’s but the photos didn’t show him everything he needed to get into the killer’s head.

Finally they arrived at the crime scene and Jack cleared everyone out so Will could do his thing. Will stood in front of the crime scene and closed his eyes. Suddenly he could feel himself inside the killer’s head, he went through the steps of the murder. He understood why the killer had displayed the body the way he had. He could appreciate the artistic values of it. Will snapped out of his reconstruction, breathing heavily. It was the Ripper.

Jack walked over to him and put his hand on Will’s shoulder. Will jumped slightly before turning to him.

“It’s the Ripper, We’re gonna have two more murders soon,” Will said quietly.

“Shit, there’s no evidence that’s going to help us catch this bastard anyways,” Jack said before going to yell at some forensics intern. Beverly walked over to Will once Jack had left his side.

“Ripper? Jack seemed more annoyed after talking to you,” She stated bending down to look at the ground, possibly for any evidence.

“Yea, think he’s just mad we don’t have any concrete evidence to base our profile besides that the Ripper has surgical experience and takes organs as trophies,” Will said as Brian and Jimmy walked over as well.

After an hour at the scene, they were finally on their way back to the lab. Will was reading the tattle crime article that had been published earlier. Beverly was looking over his shoulder to read it. Brian and Jimmy were arguing about something that Will wasn’t paying any attention to.

“So Will, how are things going with the vet?” Beverly asked and nudged his arm. Will blushed and turned away from her.

“I’m having dinner with him tonight if I can escape early enough. It’s just as friends,” Will said quietly.

“Well I’ll make sure you get out of here early enough so you can see your crush,” Bev teased and Will rolled his eyes.

“Thanks but I probably will be able to get out in time, I’m not exactly the most helpful in the lab,” Will said as they pulled into the Quantico parking lot. Brian and Jimmy quieted down now that Jack was parking the SUV they were in. Once they were parked, the group got out and started walking to the lab. Will and Bev strayed a few feet behind the others to continue their conversation.

They all had to get to work once they got to a lab, Will went over previous Ripper cases and his profile. Bev looked for any fibers that could tell them anything and did an autopsy on the body with Jimmy and Brain. They analyzed any evidence that came up but nothing was concrete or helpful to their case. This was going to end up being another hunt that leads to nowhere.

.

About two hours later, Will was able to leave and head home. He still had a few hours before he had to head to Baltimore. Will headed home and let the dogs out. He realized he’d have to take Harley in to see Hannibal soon for her shots. Will called the dogs in before jumping in the shower. He wanted to look presentable at least. Even if it was just Hannibal showing off that he was married. Although the other man never wore a wedding ring or anything, Will was sure that Hannibal was married and was going to make a point of it just to make Will aware that he knew of Will’s crush. Will sighed and got out of the shower.

Will looked through his closet trying to find something nice to wear. He didn’t know if he should wear a suit since he had realized that Hannibal was always well dressed. Will eventually decided on a blue green button up and some nice trousers. Will sighed and finished getting ready before letting the dogs out again. Will checked the time and sighed, he still had a while before he had to leave.

Will left his house about twenty minutes later. He called the dogs in before heading out to his car. His hands were shaking as he unlocked the door. Dear god why was he so nervous? It was just dinner as friends, not a real date. He drove to the address that Hannibal had texted him earlier that morning. He got more nervous as he got closer to his destination.

When Will arrived at Hannibal’s house, he parked and looked around. He felt underdressed just because of how expensive Hannibal’s home looked. Will tried to calm down before getting out of the car. His hands were still shaking a bit when he finally got out of his car. Shit maybe he should’ve brought some wine or something. He cursed at himself for forgetting to get something to bring. Will walked up to the door, taking a deep breath before knocking. A few seconds later, Hannibal opened his door, dressed in dark navy plaid trousers with a matching vest over a white button up. His hair was falling into his face and he looked more relaxed than he did when working. He looked extremely handsome.

“Hello Will,” Hannibal said, moving so Will could walk in.

“Hello, sorry I didn’t bring anything,” Will said quietly as Hannibal closed the door behind him.

“It’s fine, let me help you with your coat,” Hannibal said as Will began to shrug off his coat. Hannibal helped him with it and Will couldn’t help but blush. Of course Hannibal was the perfect gentleman.  
“Thank you,” Will said quietly and Hannibal nodded. Hannibal then led him to the kitchen.

“Food should be ready in a few minutes. Would you like some wine?” Hannibal asked as they walked into the kitchen.

“Yea, thank you, the food smells amazing. You never mentioned you could cook,” Hannibal poured the glasses of wine while Will spoke.

“You never asked,” Hannibal replied jokingly as he handed Will his wine glass. Will chuckled softly and took the glass. The timer beeped and Hannibal took the food out and began plating it.

“Do you need help?”

“No thank you, I got it Will,” Hannibal said and finished plating the food, “Follow me to the dining room,” Hannibal added before leading him to the dining room. Will was not shocked to see that the dining room was as extravagant as the rest of the house. Hannibal placed their plates down and the pair sat at the table. They ate in silence for a bit.

“This tastes amazing,” Will eventually said. Hannibal smiled.

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it,”

“So, I’m curious. Why did you ask me to have dinner with you?”

“I find you interesting to talk to,” Hannibal said before sipping his wine. Will watched him, chewing on his lip the whole time.

“Plus I wanted to get to know you better,” Hannibal added.

“Well, I find you interesting as well,” Will said quietly.

“Then the interest is mutual,”

“I guess it is,”

“Anyways how was your day today? You seemed stressed when you first got here,”

“Had to go to a crime scene this morning and it’s a hard case. But otherwise it was a normal day. How was yours?”

“It was fine. Do crime scenes often affect your mood outside work?” Hannibal asked, curiosity clear in his voice.

“I have an empathy disorder that allows me to get in the killer’s heads. Some affect me more than others, sometimes it takes time before I can fully distance myself from some of them,” Will said. He didn’t know why he felt the sudden urge to tell Hannibal all this.

“Do you just empathize with killers? Or do you empathize with all types of people”

“I can empathize with anyone, It’s part of why I avoid eye contact, eyes are distracting. But I mainly use my empathy for work so it’s usually just killers,”

“Pure empathy. That’s actually really intriguing,”

“I guess. You seem to know a lot about psychology. I mean you don’t try to force me to keep eye contact or anything like most people would,”

“I took a few psychology classes in university before I decided that I wanted to become a veterinarian. I had three top picks for careers then so I took classes for each one to help me decide,”

“So a career in psychology was one, what was the other?”

“A surgeon,” Hannibal replied and smiled at Will.

“But you went with being a veterinarian,”

“I’m glad I did, One it makes me feel closer to my sister even though she’s still in France and two, I met you through it,” Hannibal said and Will gulped. He hoped Hannibal didn’t notice that and the redness spreading across his face. Was he flirting with Will? Will took a sip of his wine to hide his embarrassment at not knowing how to reply. It also gave him time to think of a reply.

“Are you flirting with me, Doctor Lecter,” Will said teasingly. Okay he couldn’t think of anything clever.

“Possibly, Mr. Graham,” Hannibal replied before standing to cross the room. Hannibal grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled both their glasses. Will blushed when Hannibal got close to him. Dear god he was gone for this man. Will watched him as he sat back down in his own seat.

“Will, would me flirting with you, make you uncomfortable?” Hannibal asked a few seconds later.

“No,” Will said and he took another sip of wine. He didn’t want to drink too much and say something to embarrass himself but he was nervous and didn’t want to lose his ability to form a sentence due to his nerves. Hannibal smiled a bit.

“Good. Why don’t we head to the kitchen and get dessert now,”

“You even made dessert? I think I may love you,” Will joked as they stood from the table. The wine really was making him more comfortable with their casual flirting. They walked back into the kitchen where Hannibal took Will’s plate to quickly wash their dishes. Will walked over to him.

“Can I help? You cooked and set everything up, the least I can do is help you wash the dishes,” Will said as he gently placed a hand on Hannibal’s shoulder. Hannibal looked at him and placed the plates back down in the sink.

“You’re my guest, you don’t have to help,”

“I want to,” Will whispered before helping Hannibal with the dishes. The pair washed the dishes together in silence. They stood so close that their arms touched.

Will knew that the wine was making him more bold, so he was trying his best not to do anything embarrassing. They finished the plates and Hannibal went to dish up dessert for them. Will leaned against the counter as he watched Hannibal.

Hannibal turned back to him a few seconds later to hand him a small plate. Will took the plate and gave Hannibal a small smile. He took a bite out of his dessert and nearly moaned. It tasted wonderful.

“This is heavenly,” Will said after he finished chewing.

“Thank you, I’m glad you like it,” Hannibal said. They finished eating in silence. They cleaned their dishes again before Hannibal filled their wine glasses again and led them to the study. They sat in chairs across from each other as they sipped their wine. Will knew he shouldn’t drink much more if he wanted to drive home and even then he was already tipsy.

“I should probably stop drinking if I wanna make it home tonight,” Willadmitted..

“If you’re already a bit tipsy, you can stay in my guest room,” Hannibal suggested.

“I don’t want to impose,” Will replied.

“You won’t. I don’t want you driving home while under the influence,”

“Thank you Hannibal,” Will said quietly. They talked in the study for a bit longer before they both felt tired so Hannibal showed Will to the guest room. Hannibal also brought him a pair of old sweatpants and a shirt. Will thanked him again as Hannibal handed him the clothes.

Once Hannibal had headed to his own room, Will sighed. He hadn’t expected to drink so much. Will plugged his phone in with a cord that Hannibal had brought him as well. He hoped he wouldn’t have to leave early in the morning to deal with the current case or even a new crime scene, but he had to have his phone on hand just in case. Will changed into the clothes before getting into the bed.

Will woke later in the night due to a nightmare.Will panicked when he didn’t immediately recognize the room. He remembered he was staying at Hannibal’s before calming down. He’d have to apologize for how much he sweated due to his nightmare. There was a knock at the door to the room that pulled Will from his thoughts. Shit he must’ve woken Hannibal up. Will got up and answered the door.

“I heard some noises and I just wanted to make sure you were okay?” Hannibal asked when the door opened.

“Yea, fine, sorry I forgot to warn you that I have nightmares,” Will said apologetically.

“Caused by your work?”

“Yea, It’s not the most pleasant thing to dream about,”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, it’s fine. Sorry I woke you. Also I sweat a lot when I have a nightmare so sorry you’ll probably have to wash the sheets for this bed,”

“It’s okay, Will,” Hannibal said as he reached a hand up to brush hair out of Will’s face. Hannibal froze when he realized what he had done, eyes widening as Will unconsciously leaned into the touch. They both stood frozen for a few seconds, Hannibal’s hand cupping Will’s cheek. Hannibal gently began to stroke Will’s cheek with his thumb and Will leaned into the touch some more as he closed his eyes. Will opened his eyes a few seconds later, to see how Hannibal was reacting.

Hannibal’s eyes were searching Will’s face once Will opened his eyes. Their eyes met and Will decided that he really wanted to kiss Hannibal in that moment. So he did. He didn’t know if it was the help of still being slightly tipsy from the wine or being sleep deprived that encouraged him to actually listen to his brain.

Will pressed his lips against Hannibal for the other man to freeze before he realized what was happening and brought his other hand up to cup Will’s other cheek as he responded to the kiss. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s waist. The kiss was sweet and soft and it only lasted a few seconds but they both stood there holding onto each other once it ended. Their foreheads rested against each other.

“I may have been wanting to do that since the day I met you,” Will whispered before kissing the edge of Hannibal’s mouth. Hannibal captured Will’s lips again and Will pulled him closer. Hannibal parted his lips slightly as Will tangled a hand in his hair. They pulled apart slowly and Hannibal smiled at him.

“I’m glad one of us finally made the first move,” Hannibal teased quietly. Hannibal then pulled back from Will’s arms. “Spend the rest of the night with me?” He asked. Will nodded and Hannibal led him back to his room. They laid in Hannibal’s bed together, Will’s arm wrapped around Hannibal’s waist and they cuddled together. Will wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. Did Hannibal actually like him back or was he just imagining things?

Will woke up to find Hannibal’s head on his chest. Hannibal was already awake and running his finger over Will’s arm, drawing little patterns. Will smiled and ran a hand through Hannibal’s hair. Hannibal looked up at him.

“Good morning,” Hannibal said, leaning up to peck Will’s lips.

“Good morning,” Will said quietly. They spent a few more minutes cuddled up in bed before separating to go downstairs and have breakfast. They cooked and ate together. They spent another hour together before Will had to head home to check on the dogs. Will kissed Hannibal again at the door. By the time he was in his car, he already missed him. He was still wearing the shirt Hannibal let him borrow under his flannel and coat.

Will got home an hour later and immediately let the dogs out and fed them before calling Beverly. During their call, Beverly decided to just come over and they could talk about what had happened in person. When he hung up with Bev, he texted Hannibal to try and find out when he would be free again. He wanted to invite Hannibal over to his house for dinner. He wasn’t a great cook but he wanted to cook dinner for the other man. Beverly showed up before Hannibal responded so Will put his phone aside. He was worried he was possibly acting too eager to see Hannibal again.

“Hey” Beverly said when Will let her into the house.

“Hey, want anything to drink?” Will asked as Beverly sat on his couch.

“Just water cause I have to drive home later,”

“You know you can stay the night if you need to Bev, I’m not gonna just kick you out,”

“Well in that case, What are you having?” Beverly asked.

“Whiskey,” Will replied as he grabbed two glasses.

“I’ll have some as well,” Beverly said and Will poured them both two fingers of whiskey. He handed Beverly her glass before sitting across from her.

“So tell me, what happened with the vet,” Beverly said teasingly and Will blushed slightly.

“Okay so we had dinner and we were flirting a bit but it was friendly banter. I ended up staying in his guest room because I drank too much to drive home,”

“So nothing happened,” Beverly asked before she took a sip of her whiskey.

“Well nothing happened until I woke up from a nightmare and accidentally woke Hannibal too. We were just talking and then I was kissing him and falling asleep in his arms,”

“Will, that’s amazing. I’m so happy he felt the same way about you,” Beverley exclaimed causing Will to smile.

“Yea, I was pretty sure it was all a dream until I woke up with his head on my chest this morning,” Will replied, blushing again.

“God, you’re so whipped,” Beverly chuckled.

“Shut up. Now you just need to find a nice girl so that you cannot laugh at me for crushing,” Will said teasingly.

“You’re right though, I need a girlfriend so we can go on double dates,” Beverly jokes. Will chuckled and smiled at her. He was so glad to have Bev in his life. He was glad that he had a good friend that he could go to in good moments and some bad moments. He was glad that he had a shoulder to lean on especially when it came to their work. She understood that what they saw could be draining and nightmare fuel.

The pair continued their conversations for the rest of the night before they got tired enough to fall asleep. Will let Beverly have his bed for the night. Will fell asleep thinking about how things would change between him and Hannibal now.

.

Hannibal on the other hand, was at home planning his next murder. After reading Will’s text and seeing that Will wanted to see him again soon. Hannibal did want to see Will again because he was actually interested in him. He hadn’t expected to actually develop feelings for the other man. Hannibal picked a card from his rolodex of cards for people. He’d have to kill before he sees Will again since he didn’t want to wait long to see Will but he couldn’t ruin the Ripper’s pattern.

He should have a dinner party soon and show Will off to some of his peers. Also since he was finishing a sounder, he could have the thrill of feeding his peers human meat. He enjoyed hearing all the compliments from his dinner party guests and knowing they were all unaware that they were eating parts of the Ripper’s victims or just any of Hannibal’s victims. Hannibal smiled, He’d have to start planning a dinner party.

.

A few days had gone by and Will and Hannibal had planned to have dinner at Will’s Saturday night. Will was excited to see Hannibal again, but he currently was trying to focus on his job. Zeller and Price were talking about some evidence from the last Ripper scene when Jack angrily made them aware there was a new scene. This was going to be a long week.

The crime scene ended up being a Ripper scene which just made Jack even more frustrated and annoyed. They spent a little over two hours gathering evidence from the scene, all of them hoping they would find at least something helpful.

“What do you think the Ripper is doing with the organs that are removed,” Jimmy asked as him and Beverly did the autopsy and listed the missing organs. Will was leaning against the wall, reading the file from the last crime scene. Brian was looking through some of the evidence from the scene.

“Storing them probably. They’re trophies, right?” Brian said. Will sighed softly and closed the file.

“So you’re saying he’s got a bunch of organs in jars?” Jimmy asked.

“If they’re trophies, why organs?” Beverly asked and Will looked at the three of them.

“They’re trophies. The Ripper’s got some reason to be taking organs. I don’t know why yet. Maybe the missing organs have a significance. Maybe the Ripper has them in jars. Maybe he’s doing something else with them,” Will said.

“Wait if the organs have significance, we should go through and see what organs are missing in past cases’” Brian said. Will grabbed a few of the files for previous cases and searched up which organs were missing, writing down the organs that were missing. Looking for any pattern. There didn’t seem to be one but what else could the removal of organs signify. The team had so much work to do to catch the Ripper and all they could do was hope that they could catch him.

.

As the weekend approached. Will got more and more worried that it may be ruined by him being called to another crime scene. He was thankful that when Saturday morning came he wasn’t woken by Jack calling or knocking on his door. No crime scene yet, hopefully it'll stay that way. Will was able to fish and start cooking before Hannibal arrived. Thank god that his date with Hannibal wouldn’t be interrupted by his work.

Hannibal arrived at the expected time, while Will was in the middle of cooking his meal. Will let Hannibal in with a quick kiss before leading him to the kitchen. He sent the dogs to go sit in the living room. Will got him a glass of wine as they waited. Hannibal was dressed in some plain black trousers and a red sweater. His hair wasn’t super styled either, meaning pieces kept falling into his face. Will smiled at the sight of Hannibal dressed down. 

“You look good,” Will said as he checked the food he was making. Hannibal put down the glass of wine he was holding. He gently put a hand on Will’s shoulder before kissing his cheek. 

“You look quite handsome yourself,” Hannibal whispered in his ear. Will blushed and turned to kiss Hannibal gently. Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will’s waist as they kissed. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s necks. Will pulled back slightly, giving him a genuine smile. 

“I’m glad you agreed to come over. I’m not the best cook but I thought it’d be nice to cook for you after last week,” Will said quietly as he gently brushed hair out of Hanibal’s face. Hannibal smiled at him and Will pulled back slowly to check the food again. Hannibal leaned against the counter and watched Will. Will finished cooking and plated their food and carried it to the table. Hannibal kissed his cheek again. 

“Thank you for having me over, darling. It smells and looks delicious,” Hannibal said as he wrapped an arm around Will’s waist before kissing right below Will’s ear. Will bit his lip before turning towards him. 

“Thanks, I hope you like it,” Will said before they sat at Will’s table. Hannibal took a few bites before smiling at Will. 

“It’s delicious, the fish is lovely,” 

“Thank you, I actually caught the fish this morning,” 

“You fish?” Hannibal asked before taking a sip of his wine. 

“Yea, it helps me relax when things get stressful at work,” 

“Well it’s good that you have fishing so you can escape work every now and then,” Hannibal said. Will smiled and nodded. The pair finished their dinner in silence besides a few little comments here and there. The pair then ended up cuddled on Will’s couch. Will had his head against Hannibal’s shoulder and Hannibal’s arm was wrapped around his waist. 

“Hannibal?” Will said quietly, leaning his head back so he could look up at Hannibal. 

“Yes darling,” Hannibal said, kissing his forehead gently. Will blushed and smiled up at him before chewing on his bottom lip. 

“Are we a couple now or are we just going on dates?” Will asked quietly. He had been thinking about whether or not Hannibal just wanted a fling rather than a relationship. 

“I’d like to be your significant other, if that’s what you want,” Hannibal said and Will turned so they sat face to face. Hannibal brought a hand up to cup Will’s cheek. He gently stroked Will’s cheek with his thumb and Will leaned into the touch. 

“I’d like for you to be my significant other,”

“I’m glad we agree,” Hannibal said before pulling Will into a kiss. Will wrapped his arms around Hannibal’s neck as they kissed. He couldn’t believe that his hopeless crush on the vet had turned into them kissing while cuddling on his couch. Will honestly thought he was just dreaming at first. 

.

Hannibal and Will ended up falling asleep on Will’s couch, which wasn’t the best idea. When Will woke up, he could tell that his back would be hurting for the rest of the day. His back was pressed against Hannibal’s chest and Will regretted not moving to his bed once they had gotten pretty sleepy. Will sighed as Hannibal woke up himself. 

“I think sleeping on my couch was a bad idea,” Will said, chuckling softly. 

“We must have been pretty tired to not even bother moving,” Hannibal mumbled into Will’s neck.

“Yea especially since my bed is only like twenty feet away,” Will said and Hannibal chuckled. Will smiled at the sound of Hannibal laughing. Will turned around to face Hannibal as comfortable as he could. Hannibal kissed his forehead when they were finally chest to chest. Will buried his face in Hannibal’s chest and sighed softly. He knew they would have to get off the uncomfortable couch eventually. Hannibal couldn’t stay at his house forever. 

“Can I make you breakfast?” Hannibal asked a few moments later. 

“Sure, I probably don’t have a lot in my kitchen,” Will admitted. He knew he didn’t have much cause he couldn’t remember the last time he had gone grocery shopping for more than just the things he needed the night before. The pair finally got off the couch. Will stretched the minute he was standing, hoping it would help loosen some of the tense muscles in his back. Hannibal stood and stretched as well and Will’s eyes wandered to the small expanse of skin that was exposed. Will blushed and walked into his kitchen. Hannibal followed behind him as Will got the dog’s food out and went to feed them and let them outside. All six dogs came running from where they were laying in the living room. He let the dogs outside to do their business as he filled their bowls up. He then walked back into the kitchen where Hannibal had started some eggs. 

“Thank you for making breakfast for us,” Will said, wrapping his arms around Hannibal’s waist from behind. Will buried his face against Hannibal’s shoulder blade. He was shocked by how touchy he was with Hannibal since he had never been super touchy in previous relationships. Maybe it was because he wanted to be sure he wasn’t just dreaming everything. 

“It’s no problem for me to do this darling,” Hannibal said, turning his head slightly to press a kiss into Will’s hair. Will smiled. He had somehow found himself an amazing man to be with and he was still amazed that Hannibal felt the same way about him. 

Once Hannibal finished making their food, they ate in a comfortable silence before Hannibal had to head home to check on Abigail. Hannibal gave him a quick kiss before leaving, promising to call him later. Will spent a lot of the day trying to be productive and focus on working on his lectures for his classes. He knew he’d probably miss his next few lectures and have to give lesson plans to a substitute or guest due to the fact that there would likely be another Ripper murder in a few days. 

.

When Hannibal got home, Abigail was there with her girlfriend, Blair, watching a movie and cuddling. He greeted the two teens when he walked in. Hannibal kissed his daughter’s forehead before heading into his kitchen. Hannibal went through his recipe rolodex to figure out what meals he would make for his dinner party. Hannibal then pulled a business card out of his other rolodex to figure out who his next victim would be. He felt bad for causing Will stress by planning on giving him another crime scene that would lead him and his colleagues nowhere.   
Hannibal shredded the card as soon as he had all the information he needed. He then put both rolodex away before setting the recipe cards up on a cork board so they were easy to access when he began preparations for his dinner party. He then headed to his study to prepare invitations. The kitten rubbed against his leg before jumping into his lap. Hannibal smiled as he pet the cat as he wrote the invitations. 

Once he was done with those, he checked on how the girls were doing. They were still watching movies on the couch so Hannibal let them be. He checked the time, realizing he should call Will and start dinner. He would have to see if Will was willing to join his dinner party, he understood that Will wasn’t exactly thrilled to be thrown into social interactions. He decided to call Will and ask him about it. Will answered after a few rings and Hannibal smiled. 

“Hey Hannibal,” Will answered, he sounded out of breath like he had just gotten back from a run. 

“Hey darling, how has your day been since I left?” Hannibal asked curiously. 

“FIne, Max ran into the woods and I had to go chase him down with my friend and colleague who stopped by. How has yours been?” 

“Is your friend still there? And the events of my evening are actually why I called. I’m planning a dinner party and I was curious if you’d want to go. You can invite your friend as well, if it helps you feel more comfortable,” Hannibal explained. He could hear another voice in the background on Will’s side. So his friend was still there. 

“Yea she is. I’ll go and I may invite Bev, if she can go,” Will said quietly. 

“I’ll leave you to spend time with your friend but I’ll send you the details darling,” Hannibal said before they said their goodbyes and hung up. He then began dinner for himself and the girls, figuring Blair would stay for dinner. When he was done with dinner, he called the girls into the dining room. They ate and had pleasant conversation before the girls headed back to their movies. He was waiting for a chance to sneak away and get ready to set up the next Ripper display. 

A few hours later the girls had fallen asleep and Hannibal took his chance to sneak out. He knew that what he was doing would end up stressing Will out but he couldn’t just stop in the middle of his sounder. He stalked his next victim down after making sure he had all the materials he needed. 

.

Will woke in the morning to his phone ringing. Beverly had gone home pretty late and he didn’t sleep very well so he was irritated by the ringing. Will groaned as he answered his phone, knowing it was likely Jack calling about a crime scene. 

“Crime scene?” Will asked as he answered the phone, his voice full of annoyance. 

“Yea, it’s the Ripper,” Jack said and Will sighed. 

“Text me the details and I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Will said before Jack agreed and he hung up. Will got out of bed and let the dogs out before taking a quick shower. He fed the dogs and called them back in before heading to the crime scene. He walked past the yellow tape and joined the others at the scene. Will tried his best to use the evidence around the scene to construct a profile. He could at least figure out the Ripper’s message with the display. 

He just hoped they could find something to catch the Ripper. 


	5. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hannibal's dinner party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a really messy chapter but i had no inspirartion for this fic until recently. hopefully next chapter will be longer and better

Will had been working for the whole week non stop, so had his colleagues. They were analyzing all the evidence from the Ripper scenes. They had known that catching the Ripper would be hard. Beverly and Will were currently sat in his kitchen trying to analyze the missing organs to check the possibility of a pattern yet again. What could the Ripper even be doing with the organs he removes? 

Will sighed and put his head in his hands. Beverly looked up at him. He was obviously stressed and needed a break but he was stubborn enough to deny it. 

“Will let’s take a break,” Beverly said, touching his arm gently. Will looked up and nodded. He was tired enough to agree to coming back to the case on another day. 

“Would you be willing to go to a dinner party with me this weekend?” Will asked after a few moments. 

“Is It the one your boyfriend invited you to last time I was here? Because yes I want to meet my best friend’s boyfriend,” Beverly said and Will rolled his eyes. 

“Yea it is his. It’ll probably be really fancy and I don’t want to go alone,” 

“Good thing I’m free this weekend,” Beverly said causing Will to smile. 

“Good thing,” Will said in relief. He didn’t want to go alone especially because he wasn’t familiar with Hannibal’s friends and he wasn’t the most social person. 

Eventually, Beverly had to go since they would be back in the lab within the next twelve to fifteen hours. 

.

It was Friday night and Will was sitting alone in his kitchen. Will sighed as he looked at the case file open at his table. Winston was sitting by his side, pushing his head against Will’s hand. Will pet him and looked down. Work had been causing him to work odd hours, looking into anything that could help. In the end, none of it did. They were still struggling with looking for any evidence that would help them find the Ripper. 

His phone rang and Will sighed again, hoping it wasn’t Jack, calling about a new crime scene. Thankfully caller ID said it was Hannibal. At least he could talk to his boyfriend and maybe that’ll help him feel more motivated to do more than stare at a wall. 

“Hey Hannibal,” Will said once he answered the phone. 

“Hello darling,” Hannibal said and Will blushed. Hannibal had started calling him pet names in their conversations and Will still couldn’t help but blush every time. 

“Sorry I haven’t really called you this week,” Will said quietly. 

“It’s fine, I understand that your work can become stressful and busy,” 

“I missed hearing your voice,” Will said before adding: “I sound so clingy,” 

“Well, I missed your voice as well. I’ve also missed you in general,” Hannibal said and Will was left wishing they were actually together. 

“Anyways I actually called due to that reason,” Hannibal said quietly. 

“Because you missed me?” 

“Yes, I know we’ll see each other tomorrow night but I was calling to ask if you’d like to spend tonight together,” Hannibal said. 

“Sure, do you want me to drive to your place?” 

“Abigail and Blair are here, but if you’d like to come over to mine you can. If not I’ll drive to you,” 

“I’ll drive to you, I have files here and I need to take a break from my job for a bit, I’ll have my neighbors check on the dogs in the morning,” 

“Okay, I’ll see you soon darling,” Hannibal said before hanging up. Will was smiling like an idiot as he gathered some things for an overnight bag. He then let the dogs out so they could do their business before he would leave them in the house alone for the night. He called his neighbor as he watched them. Thankfully his neighbor liked the dogs and was willing to check on them again later that night and in the morning. 

Will let the dogs back into the house before getting in his car and driving to Hannibal’s. He’d probably head home to change and check on the dogs in the afternoon before heading back to Hannibal’s with Beverly for the dinner party. 

It wasn’t long before he was parking his car in Hannibal’s driveway and grabbing his overnight bag before heading to the door. He knocked and a few seconds later, Hannibal opened the door. He was dressed in a plaid suit just without the jacket. 

“Hello, darling, come in,” He said before moving aside slightly to let Will inside. Will walked in and Hannibal leaned in to peck him on the lips. Will smiled against his lips and pulled him into a hug. 

“Hi, I missed you,” Will said as he rested his head against Hannibal’s chest. Hannibal ran his hand through Will’s hair and left a kiss on the top of his head. Will pulled away a few seconds later. 

“Let me take your bag upstairs,” Hannibal said, taking Will’s bag. Will followed Hannibal upstairs, holding onto his free hand as they walked up the stairs. Hannibal placed the bag on the floor by the bed and pulled Will into his arms. Will laid his head against Hannibal’s chest, enjoying being in his arms. 

They pulled apart after a few moments and Hannibal kissed Will’s forehead. 

“Have you eaten darling?” Hannibal asked, bringing his hand up to gently stroke Will’s cheek. Will shook his head slightly. He had been busy working on the case and had barely remembered to eat that morning and definitely had forgotten lunch and dinner. 

“No, Work had me distracted,” Will admitted and Hannibal sighed softly. 

“I can make you something, though darling you do need to take care of yourself,” Hannibal said, concern evident in his voice. 

“I know and thank you,” Will said and Hannibal gave him a smile before leading him back downstairs. Hannibal started cooking for Will once they were in his kitchen. Will wrapped his arms around his waist from behind and leaned his head against Hannibal's shoulder. He felt much more relaxed than he had at home surrounded by case files. 

Hannibal finished cooking for him and plated it. Will quietly thanked him again before eating it. After Will finished eating they headed into Hannibal's living room, where Abigail and Blair were cuddling on the couch watching a movie. They looked up when Hannibal and Will walked into the room. 

"Hey dad, Hey Will," Abigail said. 

"Hi, I'm Blair, you must be Abigail's dad's boyfriend," Blair said, giving a small wave. 

"Yea, I'm Will," Will replied and gave her a small smile. 

"We're gonna watch a horror movie in a few minutes if you two wanna join," Abigail said. She was happy to see her dad in a relationship and especially with someone she already knew and liked. Will had always been nice to her when he came into the vet's office. She was glad her dad was with a good man especially after he had been avoiding dating for years. 

They decided to join Abigail and Blair for the horror movie. Will cuddled up to Hannibal's side and Hannibal wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. Will smiled and looked up at him, causing Hannibal to smile as well. 

.

After the movie, Will was still snuggled up to Hannibal. Blair and Abigail headed up to Abigail's room. 

"Do you want to head to bed?" Hannibal asked and Will nodded. He wasn't that tired but he would rather cuddle up to Hannibal in bed than on the couch. Plus he didn't want another night where they accidentally ended up falling asleep on a couch. 

They headed up stairs, walking hand in hand. Will was still shocked that he was in a healthy relationship with another man after years of going on dates that never lead to anything else. But now he was spending the night with his boyfriend to help him relax after a stressful week. 

Will goes through his bag for a t-shirt to wear to sleep. Hannibal changes out of his suit and pulls on some pajama pants, remaining shirtless. He walked over to Will and wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing Will's neck. Will let out a quiet gasp and tilted his head to give Hannibal more access. 

"You're so beautiful," Hannibal whispers in his ear before sucking a spot on his neck. Will leaned back against Hannibal's chest. 

"Babe," Will mumbled as he turned in Hannibal's arms, so they were facing each other. Hannibal leaned down to kiss him and pushed his hands under Will's shirt. Will tangled his hands in Hannibal's hair, messing up his perfectly styled hair. 

"Your daughter is home," Will said when they pulled apart and Hannibal pulled Will's shirt off. 

"We'll be quiet," Hannibal whispered and pulled him towards the bed before kissing him again. 

.

The next morning, Will woke up with his head buried in Hannibal's chest. Will smiled and kissed Hannibal's shoulder. Hannibal opened his eyes and smiled at him. 

"Good morning darling, how'd you sleep?" Hannibal asked. 

"Good morning, better than I do most nights. No nightmares. How did you sleep?" Will replied. 

"Very well," Hannibal said and kissed the top of his head. Will smiled and blushed. They laid together for a little longer before Hannibal suggested going downstairs for breakfast. 

Will pulled on his boxers and jeans from the night before and then went to grab the flannel he had put in his overnight bag. Hannibal on the other hand pulled on nice trousers and a sweater. 

Hannibal headed downstairs before Will, but Will wasn't far behind. Hannibal made them a quick breakfast since the girls were still asleep. Will leaned against the counter as Hannibal cooked them a simple omelette breakfast. 

"Watching you cook is honestly like watching someone make art," Will said quietly and Hannibal gave him a smile. 

"Thank you darling," Hannibal said as he finished up their breakfast. He plated it and put it on the kitchen island bar. After setting down their plates, Hannibal pulled him into a quick kiss. Will grabbed Hannibal's sweater in his fists, smiling against Hannibal's lips. Hannibal pulled back and smiled. 

"I could kiss you all morning," He mumbled into Will's hair. Will blushed and pulled Hannibal closer. 

"Then do it," Will teased and Hannibal chuckled before kissing Will again. Will smiled again. He couldn't believe he was standing in his boyfriend's kitchen and making out with him like teenagers. 

After a little longer of kissing, they pulled apart and finally decided to eat their food. 

"So what's the plan for the dinner party tonight?" Will asked as he finished his food. 

"I'll probably start cooking around noon and guests should be arriving around seven. Do you plan to head home then coming back?" 

"Yea, I have to meet up with my friend Beverly and check in on the dogs, plus I have nothing nice enough to wear in my overnight bag," 

"Okay, that sounds like a plan then. Also darling if anything at the dinner party makes you uncomfortable, you have every right to leave early or go to another room to take a break," Hannibal said as he reached for Will's hand.

"Thank you," Will said quietly. He was thankful Hannibal wasn't going to force him to socialize even when he was uncomfortable. 

They finished their breakfast in silence then washed their plates together. They had a few more hours before Will had to head home to check on the dogs and get ready for the dinner party. 

They found themselves curled up on the chaise in Hannibal's study, Hannibal reading a book out loud as Will drew patterns on his chest. The book Hannibal was reading was in a different language and Will couldn't understand what Hannibal was saying but Hannibal's voice was soothing. 

Will knew they hadn't been together long but he was already falling in love with Hannibal. Hannibal was extremely understanding and caring when it came to Will. 

.

Will headed home a while later, kissing Hannibal before heading to his car. He drove home deep in thought about his feelings for Hannibal. 

Will pulled into his driveway and got out of his car. He opened the front door and all the dogs came running towards him. Will bent down to give them all attention. Will stood up and headed into his house. 

Will ate a sandwich for lunch and spent some time with the dogs outside. He walked the dogs through the woods trying to pass some time. 

He looked for the nicest pair of trousers he had. Will didn't know if he should wear a suit or just a nice button down. Will continue to look through his closet. He sighed as he pulled a grey blue button down from his closet and a blazer. He could at least dress nice but not overdress. 

Will checked his phone for any messages from Bev before taking a quick shower. Once he was done with the shower, he dried his hair then wrapped a towel around his waist. He sighed softly and pulled on boxers and his trousers. He pulled on the shirt before making sure the dogs were fed. 

Beverly was soon pulling into his driveway. He walked outside to greet her. Beverly got out of her car and hugged Will. 

"Hey, Bev, you look nice," Will said. 

"Hey, you do too," Beverly said. 

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me," 

"Will, it's no problem," 

"I know but you still haven't even met Hannibal and I'm dragging you to this dinner party," 

"It's fine. I'm excited to meet Hannibal tonight," Beverly said and Will smiled a bit. They headed into his house to make sure the dogs were going to be okay to be left alone for a while. 

"So should we head to Baltimore?" Beverly asked after they let the dogs out one last time. 

"Yea, I told Hannibal we would be arriving pretty early so you two could meet before other guests arrive," Will said as they got in his car. He drove them to Baltimore. They spoke about random things during the drive. The Ripper cases were the only thing they avoided talking about. 

Soon enough, Will was pulling into Hannibal's driveway. Will and Beverly walk up Hannibal's door and knock. Hannibal answered, now dressed in a suit rather than the more relaxed outfit he had been wearing that morning. 

"Hello darling," Hannibal said kissing Will's cheek before turning to Bev, "and you must be Beverly, it's so lovely to finally meet you," 

"Its so nice to finally meet you as well," Beverly said offering her hand for Hannibal to shake. He shook it before moving out of the doorway. 

"Come in, let me help you with your coats," Hannibal said before helping Bev with her coat once they were inside. Of course he was being the perfect gentleman and was definitely going to impress her. Hannibal then helped Will before putting an arm around his waist and leading him ans Beverly to the kitchen. 

Once in the kitchen, Beverly and Will sat at the counter as Hannibal checked some of the food that was cooking. 

"He calls you darling," Beverly whispered to Will and Will smiled. 

"It's so sweet," Will mumbled.

"You two are cute together," Beverly said, causing Will to blush and look down. Hannibal smiled. 

"Thank you. Will told me that you two met through work?" Hannibal asked, then added "do either of you want some wine," 

"Yes please," Will said. 

"I would as well. And yes we did. I'm a fiber analyst and we often work crime scenes together," Beverly said. 

"You both have very interesting jobs," Hannibal replied as he poured them some wine and handed each of them their glass. 

"Well yours is also interesting," Beverly said.

"It is. Especially since we deal with more exotic pets as well," Hannibal said and Beverly smiled. 

"What made you want to become a veterinarian?" Beverly asked. 

"My younger sister. She has a love for animals and always wanted to be a vet herself when she was little, she then fell in love with art and became an artist so i became the vet in the family," Hannibal said and Will smiled at him. Hannibal reached for Will's hand and Will gave it to him and smiled. 

"Are you and your sister close?" Beverly asked. 

"Yes. Enough about me though, tell me about yourself," 

"Well I'm a fiber analyst as you know. I did violin for a few years when I was younger. No siblings and currently I'm not in a relationship," Beverly said, listing off some simple facts about her. Will watched them talk, staying quiet and hoping they would continue to get along. 

Soon other guests were arriving and they all left the kitchen to socialize. Hannibal let the staff he had hired for the night deal with the rest of the food. They had very strict guidelines on what they are meant to do. Hannibal introduced Will and Beverly to his friends and Will noticed some of the nurses from the vet's office. 

Will awkwardly interacted with others before spending a lot of time sat with Beverly away from everyone else. He didn't want to force himself to interact with people until he was uncomfortable. 

"Hannibal seems lovely. Like a proper gentleman," Beverly said. 

"He's so amazing, I don't know how I got so lucky," Will said, smiling. 

"He has a daughter right?" 

"Yea, Abigail is nice, she actually is the receptionist at the vet's office," 

"So if you and Hannibal ever get married, you'll have a step daughter," 

"We've been together about a month and a half Beverly, marriage isn't what's on my mind," 

"I know but you guys have a great relationship already and because I'm your best friend, I want you two to stay together because I can tell he makes you happy," 

"He really does, I hope I make him feel the same way," Will said, smiling as he watched Hannibal interacting with other people. 

"I think you do, He keeps glancing at you to check if you're okay and plus he would rather you be comfortable than force you to be here when you're uncomfortable. He cares for you so much, Will," Beverly said as Margot from the vet's office walked over. 

"Thanks Bev," He said quietly. 

"Hey Will, how are you and the dogs?" Margot asked. 

"Hi Margot, they're good and I'm good as well," 

"That's good. Also Hi I'm Margot Verger," Margot said, turning to Beverly. 

"Beverly Katz, lovely to meet you," Beverly said. 

"It's nice to see you here. I just came over to say hi, Hope you guys have a nice night," Margot said before walking away to go talk to Hannibal. 

"She seems nice," Beverly said. 

"She's one of the nurses from Hannibal's office and she is really nice," Will said. 

Eventually dinner was served as they sat at the table. Will thankfully was able to sit close to Hannibal. After they ate, people slowly began to leave. Beverly and Will stayed the latest before having to leave for the night since Will needed to check on the dogs and he didn't want Beverly to drive home too late if she decided to. 

.

The next few days went by in a blur. Will was busy working for the whole week. He was busy working on lectures then spending his free time in the lab with Beverly, Jimmy and Brian. 

One day he was in his classroom finishing up lecture notes when Alana came in to his classroom. 

"Hey Will, I recently adopted a dog and I was looking for some vet's. I was wondering if you had any recommendations?" Alana asked Will as she took a seat by his desk. 

"Yea, here's a card to the vet I take the dogs too, everyone is really nice there," Will said and handed her a card to Hannibal's office. 

"Thank you so much," Alana said before leaving the room. 

He spent about another hour in his classroom, working on the lecture for his next class. Since, the Ripper case had cooled down a bit, Will wasn’t being forced to stay at work until the late hours of the night. 

Will sighed and packed up his things after doing the rest of his work. He went to the lab to check if they needed any help. They were all finishing up for the day as well. Will decided to head home. 

While on his way home Will found a small dog on the side of the road that looked like it had been hit. Shit shit. Will cursed and got out of the car. He checked on the dog, it was thankfully still alive but it needed medical attention. He needed to go to Hannibal. His vet office should still be open for a bit longer.


	6. chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im dying inside cause college sorry if this is shit

Will knew that when he found the dog on the side of the road, he would need to get it medical attention immediately. Hannibal's office should be open still and he knew Hannibal would help him. Will grabbed the towel he had in his trunk for just in case the dogs got wet when he took them with him when he went fishing. 

Will wrapped the dog in the towel and put it in the backseat before driving straight to Hannibal's vet office. When he arrived at Hannibal's vet office, the first thing he noticed was that there was not a single car in the parking lot. Shit where they closed already. Will checked the time. They should still be open..He got out of the car to check. Nope they were closed. 

He would drive to Hannibal's house. Will got back into his car and began to drive to Hannibal's home. His car was in the driveway when Will pulled in. He should be home then. Will got out and checked on the dog. It was still alive thankfully. 

Will went to Hannibal's door and knocked on the door. Please answer, Will thought as he waited. After a few seconds of waiting, he knocked again but louder this time. Still no answer. Shit where the fuck was Hannibal. His car was in the driveway, why would he leave home without it? S1hit, he'd have to drive to the emergency vet's office and get charged an arm and leg. 

He drove to the emergency vet's office and they immediately took the dog back. Will paced in the waiting room as he tried to get in contact with Hannibal. He was still getting no answer at all. Why the fuck was Hannibal ignoring his calls. Now Will was starting to worry about Hannibal. Had something happened to him? 

A few hours passed before the vet came out and told Will what was going on with the dog. He sighed and left contact information for them to call him to come get the dog the next day or in another day or two. Will tried to call Hannibal again. Still getting no answer. He was extremely worried about him. 

Will went out to his car and leaned his head against the steering wheel. He was so worried about Hannibal and stressed out from work and having to deal with a hurt dog. Will started crying out of frustration and stress. He tried to calm down but he couldn't stop himself from crying. God if anyone walked past his car, he would look crazy. 

After a bit, he was able to calm down and finally drive home. It was another two hours before he was home. He checked his phone again once he pulled into his own driveway. Still nothing from Hannibal. He immediately let the dogs out and fed them again before pulling his pants and shirt off and climbing into bed. Hopefully he could sleep in a bit the next morning and not be woken up. 

. 

Hannibal got home in the early hours of the morning. He put the meat he had taken from this copycat kill and put it in his freezer before heading upstairs to take a shower then get ready for his day at work. Abigail was at Blair's house for the night and He wasn't expecting anyone to try to come see him so he was sure him saying he was home all night was a good alibi. 

That was until he checked his phone and saw he had ten missed calls and voicemails from Will and a bunch of text messages. Shit had Will come over to try and surprise him. Hannibal sat on his bed and listened to all the voicemails. Will knew he wasn't home last night. 

Shit shit. Will was in the FBI and extremely intelligent. He would be able to connect the dots. He could lose the one person outside his sister and daughter that he truly cared about because he didn't think that Will might try to contact him. 

Hannibal put his head in his hands. The FBI were going to get called to the scene he had left in a few hours. It was a copycat killing and not a Ripper one but still he knew Will would connect the dots and he'd end up arresting Hannibal.

.

Will awoke to his phone ringing and groaned. He rolled over and answered the phone. 

"What?" he said. 

"Crime scene, I'll text you the details," Jack said.

"Ok, I'll get there as soon as possible," Will said before hanging up the phone. Crime scene… he hasn't heard back from Hannibal. No no what if Hannibal is the person he finds dead. No. It can't be that. Will called Hannibal, maybe he'll answer today. Almost immediately there was an answer. 

"Darling, Hello," 

"Oh thank god," Will said when he heard Hannibal's voice. 

"Everything alright?" Hannibal asked. 

"Sorry I freaked out. I called you like ten times last night and got no answer only to wake up and have a crime scene to go to," Will explained. 

"Oh that's understandable. Sorry I was unavailable last night," 

"Yea. I know. Stopped by your place and all. Where even were you?" 

"Sorry, There was an emergency, I had to quickly leave home," Hannibal lied. Yea if you consider mutilating a person then displaying their corpse to send a message to the original killer an emergency then it's not a lie. 

"It's okay, I gotta go. I have to be at the crime scene in a few minutes," Will said before hanging up. Hannibal sighed. Hopefully Will believed his lie. 

.

Will sighed after hanging up the phone. Hannibal was hiding something. He wasn't sure what but he was hiding something. An emergency. Such a vague excuse. Why was his car still at his house if he had to leave? 

Will pulled himself from his thoughts and got out of bed, he needed to get to this crime scene. Will started some coffee before letting the dogs out. Will went to his own bathroom to brush his hair and teeth. He then pulled on some trousers and a flannel before grabbing his wallet, badge and keys off the bedside table. Will put his coffee in a to go cup and headed out after making sure all the dogs were inside. 

He then headed to the crime scene. When he was there he showed his badge to the local police and went to find Jack. Jack and the rest of the team were in front of the displayed corpse. They had seen this M.O before. They knew which killer they were looking for. Will sighed as Jack made everyone leave the scene so Will could do his thing. 

Will closed his eyes and put himself in the killers head. This wasn't the same killer that had done the other kills with this M.O. Will opened his eyes and turned to Jack. 

"This is a copycat killer," Will said to Jack. 

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. 

"Yea, this copycat wants to send a message to the original killer," Will stated, this had been extremely evident in the way the body was displayed. The copycat knew who the original killer was. 

“What is our copycat’s message?” 

“He knows who our original killer is and he wants the original killer to know that. I think this is a threat,” Will said and Jack sighed. 

"So now we have a killer challenging another killer?" 

“Seems like it,” 

Jack walked away and angrily and Will sighed. He didn't understand why but this copycat felt familiar to him. Will sighed and walked over to Beverly, Jimmy and Brian. 

"Hey anything helpful from your profile, there's little to no evidence to analyze," Jimmy asked as Will walked over. 

"No, Just that this is a copycat. I feel like I recognize the killer though," Will said quietly. 

"What do you mean by recognize?" Brian asked. 

"He feels familiar… I don't know," Will mumbled. 

"You seem exhausted," Beverly said, sounding concerned. 

"I was up most of the night. I found a hurt dog last night and tried to take it to Hannibal but he wasn't at his business or home so I ended up worrying about him all night and at an emergency vet's office, it was a stressful night," Will explained. 

"Damn that does sound stressful," Beverly said. 

"So your boyfriend goes MIA the same night a murder happens?" Brian asks and Beverly pushes him. 

"Brian, Don't be insensitive," Jimmy says. Will's eyes widened as he thought about it. 

Hannibal had been gone at the same time this murder would've happened. Hannibal had definitely been hiding something from him. No no no. But Hannibal couldn't be a killer. But what if he was? 

"I'm sorry, I gotta go," Will said before quickly walking away from the scene. He needed to go talk to Hannibal. He needed to be reassured that he was wrong or at least have Hannibal lie to him. 

He got in his car and leaned his head against the steering wheel again. He couldn't believe he was even questioning if his boyfriend was a serial killer or not. But it made sense. The killer felt familiar. Maybe it was because he was putting himself in his boyfriend's head. Hannibal had always been interested in what Will did for work. 

Will put his keys in the ignition and left the crime scene. He knew he would end up getting shit from Jack but he couldn't be there anymore. Will drove towards Baltimore. He had to go see Hannibal. 

About an hour and a half later, Will was pulling into Hannibal's vet office parking lot. Hannibal's car was parked in the parking lot. Will checked his phone as he got out of the car. He had like twenty missed calls from Jack. Will sighed and walked into the vet's office. Abigail was on the phone and Margot was typing something into a computer. 

"Hey Will, do you need something?" Margot asked when she saw him. 

"Yea, I need to talk to Hannibal real quick," Will said and Margot nodded. 

"He's in his office, I'll take you," Margot said before leading him to the back and to Hannibal's office. Hannibal was writing something down when they got there. Margot left Will by the doorway. Will knocked quietly and Hannibal looked up. 

"Hello Darling, is everything okay?" Hannibal asked standing up and walking towards Will. 

"Hannibal don't lie to me," Will said and walked towards Hannibal. 

"What's wrong?" Hannibal asked. 

"Where were you really last night?" Will asked and Hannibal sighed. 

"With a friend. They had an emergency and I offered to help," 

"So it's just a coincidence that you are obviously lying to me and that you were completely unavailable at the same time a murder was happening?" 

"Will… you cannot believe I would kill someone. I swear I was with a friend," 

"No, don't give me bullshit. I can tell you're lying to me, Please just tell the truth," Will said and Hannibal sighed. He grabbed Will's hand and pulled him closer. 

"Darling, I'm sorry," Hannibal said and Will pulled his hand back. 

"No no.. there's no way," Will said in disbelief, "I cannot be around you right now," Will added before walking out. 

Will didn't know how to feel. He walked to his car. What would he do? Would he turn Hannibal in? Could he live with the guilt of knowing Hannibal was a killer and letting him go free?

Will headed home and spent the rest of the night debating his feelings on the situation. 

.

The next morning he went through his lectures and spent some time in the lab. He lied and said he had gotten sick at the scene and needed to go home. He was now using work as a distraction from what he had learned about Hannibal. As the hours went by Will became more and more unsure about his options with Hannibal. He was sitting at work trying to solve a case where he already knew who the killer was. 

The next day went by the same way but Hannibal had sent him a few messages, asking him to talk. This just sent Will spiraling into the same feelings he had the day he had found out Hannibal was a killer. 

Will sighed as he sat in his office. He couldn't handle being in the lab and pretending he was okay. Will packed up his things and headed down to his car. He might as well leave Quantico if he didn't want to be there anyways. 

His phone rang and it was the emergency vet's office calling him. He answered and they explained he could pick up the dog he had left with them a few nights ago. Will sighed and drove to the emergency vet's office.

Will was shaking as he considered his options when it came to Hannibal. He didn't want to lose someone he had finally felt comfortable with and begun to fall in love with. Will sighed, he knew the right thing to do was to turn Hannibal into the FBI… but he didn't want to. That's what worried Will. He didn't want to do the right thing. He wanted to continue to live a happy life with Hannibal.

Will got to the emergency vet's office and picked up the dog from a few nights ago. The dog seemed a lot more lively and happier now. The vet gave Will a list of what to do and what to give the dog's actual vet. Will sighed and got back in the car with the dog. He needed to just go home and think everything over, he couldn't think if he was distracting himself with work. 

Will honestly wished everything would go back to when he didn't know Hannibal was a killer. Will would rather live never knowing and being oblivious that Hannibal was killing people. He sighed and let out a quiet sob as he tried to calm himself down. 

Will started his car as he let tears run over his face. He knew it wasn't particularly safe to drive home while his vision was blurred by tears, but he couldn't sit in this parking lot forever. Will pulled out his parking spot and drove towards the road. 

His vision was blurred and he wasn't in the best place mentally. He wasn't paying as much attention as he usually would. The next thing he knew was he felt impact and his vision was going black. 

.

Hannibal decided to close the vet's office early after his conversation with Will. He was actually feeling upset after Will had yelled at him. He didn't want to deal with work while he was feeling like utter shit. 

He headed home like an hour after everything that had happened. He needed some time to himself. He would try to get in contact with Will in a day or two, give him some time to process what he had learned. 

The day Hannibal had messaged Will a few times, he ended up closing the office, just in case Will did decide he wanted to talk. Hannibal was sitting in his office, sulking when he noticed his phone was ringing. He checked the caller ID and saw it was Will's number. He answered, maybe Will had forgiven him. 

"Hello darling," Hannibal said as he answered. 

"Hannibal, It's Beverly, I'm at the hospital with Will," Beverly said. Shit had something happened to Will. 

"What happened?" 

"He's been in a car accident," 

"I'll be right over," Hannibal said and hung up. He knew Will probably wouldn't want him there but he had to go see him. He told Abigail what happened and that he was heading to the hospital. She told him that she wanted to go with so they headed to the hospital together. 

.

Will awoke in a hospital room. Beverly was sitting in the chair beside his bed on the phone. Probably with Jack or anyone else they worked with. He knew she probably called Hannibal because she wasn't aware they were fighting. He remembered the car crashing into him. The dog. 

"Bev is the dog okay?" Will asked and Beverly looked up. 

"Yes, the paramedics held him. I called Alana after they called me and she picked him up about twenty minutes after I got here. God Will, I'm so glad you're okay," Beverly said and Will let out a sigh of relief. Thank god the dog was okay. 

"I know I was in a car accident, how long have I been out?" Will asked and Beverly sighed. 

"About two hours, Thankfully nothing too bad happened to you. You have a broken arm and may be sore for a few days since the impact hit you pretty hard otherwise you should be fine. Why weren't you paying attention to the road?" 

"I stressed myself out and ended up in tears," Will half admitted. He didn't want to lie to Beverly but he also didn't want to reveal the truth as to why he was crying. 

"God I'm just glad you're okay," Beverly said and Will smiled a bit. 

"Sorry I caused worry," Will said.

"It's okay. I called Hannibal, he should be here soon. I also called Jack and Alana. Jimmy and Brian were with me when I got the call from the hospital since you made me an emergency contact," Beverly explained and Will nodded.

A few minutes later, Hannibal and Abigail walked into the room. Will gave them both a small smile. He knew he was supposed to be angry at Hannibal, but he was glad to see him. 

"Hey, how are you feeling Will," Abigail asked as she took a seat on the other chair in the room. 

"Fine, a bit sore," Will said and sat up a bit, Hannibal rushed to his side to help him. With Hannibal's help Will was able to sit up. Hannibal left a gentle kiss on the top of Will's head. 

"I'm so glad you're okay, love," Hannibal said into his hair and Will froze at the word love. He did not just call him love. Was he trying to manipulate Will into forgiving him? It wasn't like he wasn't already willing to forgive Hannibal. 

Will looked up at Hannibal. He gently reached a hand up to touch Hannibal's cheek. He gave Will a small smile and leaned down so they were face to face. Will leaned in like he was going to kiss him, but stopped before their lips met

"I'm still mad at you," Will whispered before pulling back. Hannibal stood back up and walked to take a sit in the chair next to his daughter's. Will smiled a bit. 

"What even happened?" Abigail asked Will. 

"I wasn't paying attention, I ran a light and got hit," Will said quietly. 

"Well I'm glad you're okay," Abigail said and Beverly stood up.

"I have to head back to work, I'll see you later," Beverly said 

"Bye Bev, hopefully I'll be out of here soon," Will replied and Beverly nodded before leaving. Hannibal looked at Abigail and she sighed. 

"I'm gonna head to the cafeteria," She said before leaving herself. Hannibal looked at Will once she was out of the room.

"I know you're still angry… I'm sorry Will but I had to make sure you were okay," Hannibal said and Will nodded. 

"I know, but I just can't act like everything is okay just because I'm in the hospital and you're playing the caring partner," Will said. 

"Me caring for you is not an act," 

"Hannibal, almost everything you do is an act, I don't know if I can believe that," 

"Will I care about you. I'm not pretending to be a loving and caring partner. I am your loving and caring partner," Hannibal stated and Will sighed. 

"I'm so conflicted on how I feel about you and everything you do. I don't even know if I should trust you," Will exclaimed and put his head in the hand that wasn't in a cast. Hannibal stood and walked over to him. Hannibal took a seat on the edge of the bed. 

"Will, I love you, that's not a lie. I want to be with you and I never want to hurt you intentionally," Hannibal said and reached for Wills arm. Will looked up at him. 

"Hannibal, I- ," Will started but then stopped. He sighed and reached for Hannibal. Hannibal gently pulled him into his arms. Will started crying into Hannibal's shoulder. 

"It's okay, I've got you darling," Hannibal said and kissed the top of his head. He rubbed Will's back gently. 

"I feel like a horrible person because I want to pretend I never found out," Will mumbled into his shoulder. 

"You're not a horrible person Will," Hannibal said quietly and cupped his face and gently directed his face so they were looking at each other. 

"That's easy for you to say," Will said. Hannibal killed people of course he could excuse pretending that someone wasn't a killer. 

"You're not a horrible person. You want to pretend you never found out because we're together and had a good relationship," Hannibal said and kissed his forehead. Will sighed softly. 

"I love you Hannibal but I don't know how to feel when it comes this," Will mumbled and Hannibal pulled him closer. 

"We can talk about it later," Hannibal said into his hair. Will nodded and buried his face in Hannibal's chest. 

A nurse walked into the room a few minutes later and Hannibal got up and out of her way. The nurse checked Will's vitals. 

"You're ready to go, I just have to get your discharge papers," The nurse said and Will nodded. 

"Thank you," He said before the nurse left the room. Hannibal sighed softly. 

"Do you want me to bring you home or do you want to stay at mine for the night?" Hannibal asked. 

"I'd rather be at my home," Will replied. 

"I'll drive you home then love," Hannibal said as the nurse walked back in with the paperwork. Will signed what he needed to and the nurse left to let him change into clean clothes. 

Thankfully Beverly had picked up some clothes from his house on her way to the hospital since the clothes he was wearing when he was in accident had blood on them. As Will stood up, he realized that his left hip was aching and he'd probably have to walk with a limp for a while. 

Will pulled on the sweatpants and tshirt Beverly had brought him. Hannibal gathered Will's things and called Abigail to come back to the room. Abigail came back a few minutes later. They gathered up their stuff and headed down to Hannibal's car. 

Hannibal drove Will home. Abigail sat in the backseat, on her phone. 

"Did you guys fix whatever you're fighting about?" Abigail asked eventually. 

"Abigail, you don't need to know about our issues," Hannibal said and Will sighed softly. 

"I'm just asking because I don't want you two to be fighting. Dad, you finally found someone who is good for you and you had to do something to mess it up," Abigail said. Hannibal let out a sigh of annoyance but didn't speak up. He was probably annoyed that she had automatically assumed Hannibal had done something to start a fight. 

"We're fine," Will said quietly before adding "Your father may have pissed me off but I still care about him and want to be with him," 

"Good because I like seeing my dad happy and Will, you make him extremely happy," Abigail said and Will smiled a bit before looking at Hannibal. 

"It's a good thing he makes me happy as well or he'd be screwed," Will said and Hannibal smiled a bit.

They stayed silent for the rest of the drive to Will's. When they got to Will's house, he invited them both inside. Abigail went ahead to unlock the door and let the dogs out while Hannibal helped Will. 

"I'm forgiving you because I want to make this work between us. I don't agree with your hobbies but I care about you enough to not turn you in," Will said when Abigail was out of earshot. Hannibal nodded and kissed his forehead. 

"I promise I only kill people who deserve it. Usually people who abuse animals or do other things like that," Hannibal admitted and Will nodded. 

"Can we not really talk about it unless absolutely necessary," Will said and Hannibal nodded. They then walked up to the house. Hannibal helped Will so he wasn't causing unnecessary pain on his left hip. 

Abigail was sitting with dogs and giving them a bunch of attention. 

"They seem to be enjoying the extra attention," Will said as they walked over. 

Abigail smiled and got up to go play with the dogs in the yard. Will took a seat on the bench on his porch. Hannibal sat with Will and kissed the top of his head. Will leaned against him and sighed. 

"I should've been more careful earlier," Will said quietly and Hannibal looked at him. 

"You were upset, It's understandable that you weren't in a place to be as focused on your driving," 

"I shouldn't have been driving at all," Will said. 

"Don't put yourself down because of this," Hannibal said and kissed the top of Will's head. Will smiled a bit and cuddled up to him. 

"I don't want to lose you Will," Hannibal said after a few moments. Will sighed softly. 

"I don't want lose you either but I think my reaction to you being a killer was completely valid. I do have a condition about this though," Will said. 

"What is it darling?" 

"Can you please tell me when you kill and if you're more than just a copycat killer?" 

"Yes… Speaking of being more than just being a copycat or not, I should probably tell you that I am a well known serial killer as well," Hannibal admitted and Will sighed. 

"Okay maybe give me a few days before telling me which one," Will said. He was afraid he may get angry with Hannibal again and he wanted to give himself time to prepare for the worst. 

"I'll tell you in a few days then," Hannibal said as Abigail walked back over with the dogs. She smiled when she saw them cuddled together. 

"Glad to see you two made up," She said as she took a seat on the porch stairs. 

"Would you two like to stay for dinner?" Will asked. 

"I'm okay with staying," Abigail said, petting Max. 

"Sure darling," Hannibal said, kissing Will's cheek. 

"I don't have any idea what's in my kitchen but I'm sure I can make a meal out of what I have," Will said jokingly. 

After a few more minutes the three of them headed inside. Will headed into his kitchen to search for something to make for dinner. Hannibal followed him. He was watching Will from the doorway. Will turned to look at him. 

"I can make some pasta," Will said quietly. 

"I'll help you darling. I know it may be a little hard with your arm," Hannibal said and Will nodded. 

"Thank you," Will said. 

They cooked dinner together. As they waited for the water for the pasta to boil, Hannibal pulled Will into his arms. Hannibal kissed him gently as Will wrapped his good arm around Hannibal. They kissed until they needed to pull back for air. Will buried his face into Hannibal's chest when they pulled back.

After a few seconds, Will pulled back to check the water and saw it was boiling. They finished cooking dinner together. They set the table and called Abigail into the kitchen. The three of them ate as they talked. After dinner was done, Hannibal and Abigail stayed a bit longer before heading home. 

Will was slightly thankful they left since he didn't want to have Hannibal there the whole night. He loved Hannibal and wanted to make things work between them but he was still uncertain about his feelings and he just wanted some space.

.

A few days went by before the next time Hannibal and Will talked. Will was taking some time to consider everything he had learned about Hannibal and focusing on work. Will spent the next few days also preparing himself for what well known serial killer Hannibal may be. He was worried he would freak out when Hannibal admitted it so he was preparing for the worst. 

Preparing for the worst was also why Will wanted to see Hannibal. When he wasn't working he was going through case files of well known killers that hadn't been caught and put the idea that Hannibal was the killer. None of them were fitting for the kind of person Hannibal was. When he had gotten to the Ripper's file though, it changed. Will could see Hannibal as the Ripper. Will dropped the file in shock and immediately told Hannibal to come over as soon as possible. He needed Hannibal to confirm his suspicions. 

Hannibal drove to Will's house one evening. They had just gotten off the phone and Hannibal had said he could come over that night. 

When Hannibal finally arrived, Will went outside to greet him by his car. 

"Hey babe," Will said when he walked over. 

"Hello, my love," Hannibal said before kissing Will. He wanted to pull away so he could ask Hannibal about why he invited him but he let Hannibal kiss him. After a few seconds, Will pulled back and they headed into the house together. 

Once inside Will sighed and turned to Hannibal. 

"Tell me which well known serial killer you are," Will said and crossed his arms.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Hannibal asked and Will nodded.

"Please just tell me," Will said. He needed to know if he was right or not. 

"I'm the Chesapeake Ripper,"

**Author's Note:**

> I will update whenever, college is over until Jan after Sunday so i may be able to write faster but I am slow. Tags will be updated if I need add anything new. Leave comments and kudos!


End file.
